
Subscribe & Follow
Fire victims rebuild their homes, only to have them demolished by city

Mayoral committee member for informal settlements Xanthea Limberg said the structures were taken down because a group had rebuilt over the boundary line, encroaching on another property. The city had previously instructed fire victims to rebuild on their original sites.
No space to rebuild on original site
But Boniswa Mahlasela, whose rebuilt shack was destroyed, said that she got her rebuilding materials from the city on 29 October and by then there was no space to build her shack on its original site. “I was renting a small space at the back of the other big shack. I had no space for rebuilding at the back so I decided to move to the open space,” she said.
Mahlasela has been staying in Overcome Heights for five years. “I was surprised that the city demolished my shack and am not sure where to go now. My structure was up already. I had put some of my belongings in it. My belongings were left scattered all over the place.”
Andiswa Mubazha, whose home was also destroyed in the fire, built her shack on the boundary for the same reason. “I borrowed used building material and constructed my own shack here only to witness the city pulling it down,” said Mubazha, a mother of five.
She is unemployed and depends on her children’s grants to survive. Some of her children are staying with her friends.
This article was originally published on GroundUp.
Source: GroundUp

GroundUp is a community news organisation that focuses on social justice stories in vulnerable communities. We want our stories to make a difference.
Go to: http://www.groundup.org.za/Related
Concourt judgment on Tafelberg could change future of social housing 28 Feb 2025 Looming electricity price hike to hit vulnerable social-housing tenants hard 23 Aug 2024 Farmers fear loss of land to Motsepe Foundation citrus project 29 Jul 2024 Housing activists lose Tafelberg case 15 Apr 2024 Pride Flisp housing project delivers affordable homes in Eerste River 23 Aug 2023 Heritage approval granted for social housing development at old Woodstock hospital 1 Aug 2023
