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6 February 2007

There are no winners when people take the law into their own hands. The people who invaded Delft homes last month were today ordered by the Cape High Court to vacate the properties by 17 February.

While Thubelisha, the developers of the N2 Gateway Pilot Project, is relieved that judgement was granted in its favour, we also feel pity for those who were manipulated into breaking the law. We take note of Judge Deon Van Zyl's remarks to the effect that the invasion was launched due to people "being wrongly advised by people who should have known better."

Judge Van Zyl said the court was aware of Cape Town massive housing backlog, but could not sanction people taking the law into their own hands. Thubelisha is committed to working with the people to ensure their relocation is effected with as little trauma as possible. We have further been instructed by the Minister of Housing to assist the home invaders either locate their names on the housing waiting lists or ensure their registration.

We appeal to the people to work with us. The sooner we work through this difficulty, the sooner we can complete building the houses, the sooner we can begin the next phase of the project and the sooner the people will get access to homes. All N2 Gateway beneficiaries will receive homes, and Delft Symphony is not our only building site. But the people of Cape Town must understand that the Gateway project will deliver 30 000 homes, against a backlog of 400 000.

We remain committed to allocating new Delft homes on a 70:30 basis to former residents of informal settlements and backyard dwellers, respectively. In this way we achieve our goals of eradicating informal settlements along the N2 Freeway, while simultaneously alleviating pressure on overcrowded backyards in the surrounding area. At Joe Slovo we are similarly committed to allocating 30% of homes to Langa backyard dwellers.

Finally, Thubelisha has unfinished business with Democratic Alliance (DA) Councillor Mr Frank Martin, who is facing trial on charges related to inciting the invasion about six weeks ago, and from whom we intend to recover the mounting monetary costs of the invasion.

For more information please call:
Ndivhuwo Mabaya
Cell: 083 645 7838

Issued by: Department of Housing
6 February 2008