Today, the Standing Committee on Human Settlements in the Western Cape resolved to call on the District 6 community to share their experiences and any issues that they may be facing in the restitution process. Once the committee has received all public submissions, their issues will be raised with the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) which is responsible for the construction and claims of beneficiaries. This process is aimed at giving a voice to the claimants of District 6 who were forcibly removed from their homes more than 50 years ago.
MPP Matlhodi Maseko says: “We have seen continued delays in District 6 housing projects since ground broke there more than two decades ago. In the latest line of delays, it has been more than 5 months since 108 families were expected to move into the Phase 3 project on Hanover Street, with the DALRRD offering every excuse and no timeframe on when beneficiaries, many of them in the 80s and 90s, can expect to move home. However, Phase 3 is not the only or the last housing project for District 6, and delays at this site have a knock-on effect for other projects. These delays ultimately deny dignity and justice to residents who have been waiting on the national government to get its house in order.
We have received communication from residents who have approached the Western Cape Government with the hope that the province may be able to shed some light on the timeframes of when they can expect the national government to bring them home. Despite the Standing Committee having invited the national Department multiple times to speak to the people of the Western Cape, they have repeatedly declined the opportunity to give an update on the restitution process.
While the District 6 restitution process is not a provincial project and remains squarely the responsibility of the national department, we are attempting to find answers for the residents of the Western Cape and ensure that their voices are heard. The Standing Committee is committed to a public participation process that will be as far reaching and inclusive as possible. The process will be advertised through newspapers, radio adverts, and further communicated through approaching known District 6 community groups to assist in connecting beneficiaries with this process.
Our hope is that by bringing together the concerns and issues that District 6 beneficiaries have experienced, national government can no longer remain silent on the matter. Beneficiaries deserve to have clear, concrete timelines of when they can expect to return home. In their pleas to Members of this legislature, elderly beneficiaries have highlighted the urgency of finalising this matter and the negative toll that the lack of communication and uncertainty has had on their health. The justice that these beneficiaries deserve must become a reality.”
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