REMARKS BY THE MINISTER OF HUMAN SETTLEMENTS, LINDIWE SISULU ON THE COMPOSITION OF ENQUIRY ON THE REMOVAL OF ILLEGAL OCCUPANTS OF SANRAL LAND AT NOMZAMO/LWANDLE, CAPE TOWN, IMBIZO ROOM, PARLIAMENT, June 5 2014

Greetings to Members of the Media

What happened on Monday and Tuesday is on record and known by all as it was captured in all forms of media. It is also on record that the Premier of the Western Cape, Honourable Helen Zille indicated that the province is not involved. The City of Cape Town also communicated the same message through a media statement that they are not involved and they have no responsibility on the matter. I then decided that National Government must be involved to find a solution to the problem. We have therefore declared this a National Special Project managed by the National Department.

We must start by putting it on record that we do not tolerate, condone nor encourage any illegal occupation of land in our country. Of concern for us was that people did not have temporary accommodation during winter and exam time.

Taking into consideration concerns raised by all stakeholders on the timing and manner of the removal, the blame game between the City of Cape Town and SANRAL I have decided to establish a Ministerial Enquiry to establish the truth.

The Enquiry will:

Investigate all the circumstances under with the removal took place, including the history, the facts leading to the application for and obtaining of the court order by SANRAL on January 24, 2014; the role of the relevant Sheriff.

The roles of the law enforcement officials who assisted the Sheriff and any other official of the National, Provincial and Local Government and any other person or institution,

Establish the identity of the members of the informal settlement, how the community came to be on the land in question when there is waiting list for the provision of housing in terms of Government programmes.

Report of the Minister on its investigation and findings and make necessary recommendations to the Minister for consideration.

The Enquiry will consist of the following six members:

Adv. D Potgieter SC (Chairperson)

Ms Nomhle Beauty Dambuza

Ms Mampe Ramotsamai

Ms Jabu Sosibo

Mr Butch Steyn

Ms Annelize van Wyk

Mr Barnabas Xulu

I am hoping the Enquiry will be able to report within thirty days. I also hope their report will allow assist us to put together measures to make sure that we do not have the same problem again anywhere in South Africa. The Commission will seat here in Cape Town to ensure full participation of all stakeholders.

Update on the engagement with the community and way forward

The Minister of Transport, Ms Dipuo Peters, MP, Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Ms Zoe Kota Fredericks and the MEC of Human Settlements, Mr Bonginkosi Madikizela, MPL met with the community on Tuesday.

We visited also the land yesterday and met with the leadership of the community at the hall last night. We must thank those who have joined the Government to provide food and other needs to the community in this difficult time.

At the meeting yesterday the community indicated that going back to the same land to be removed after sixty days is not a good option. SANRAL has since agreed to purchase another piece of land to relocate the people as a permanent solution. This process is on; the Housing Development Agency, SANRAL and the National Department of Human Settlement are currently busy reviewing the options of land provided by SANRAL. I will meet them again this evening to finalise.

The MEC of Human Settlement, Mr Madikizela has indicated that the province will assist with emergency kits and temporary basic services like sanitation and water to enable people to settle quickly on the land identified.

We are committed to permanent solution to this problem in the interest of the people.

Thank you

TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE MINISTERIAL ENQUIRY INTO THE EVICTION OF THE INFORMAL SETTLEMENT COMMUNITY OF LWANDLE, CAPE TOWN, 5th JUNE 2014

PREAMBLE

WHEREAS Honourable Lindiwe Sisulu, Minister of Human Settlements, has received reports of evictions of about 800 families in Lwandle who are in illegal occupation of land owned by the South African National Roads Agency Limited in the Western Cape;

AND WHEREAS the Minister has further received reports as a result of the manner in which the evictions were carried out there was loss of property and violations of constitutional rights during this eviction process;

AND since section 3 of the Housing Act, 107 of 1997 read together with section 7(2) of the Constitution imposes certain obligations on the Minister to take reasonable steps to ensure that the rights in section 26 of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution are fulfilled;

AND HAVING regard to the provisions of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998 which regulates and prescribes the process that must be followed for the lawful eviction of unlawful

NOW THEREFORE a ministerial enquiry is appointed as follows:

1. BACKGROUND

(i) The Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, has taken serious note of the eviction of the community of Lwandle in Cape Town by the Sheriff of the Court on behalf of SANRAL pursuant to an Interim Order of the Cape High Court. The Minister is of the considered view that all those affected have rights that should be upheld and obligations that must be honoured. She also takes the view that there are laws and attended responsibilities that are accorded to all and that in all these actions the rubric of the law must be respected.

(ii) The Minister is sensitive to the housing needs of the communities and strongly believes that humane solutions must be found to their plight without compromising the essence of the law.

(iii) The Minister is desirous to establish the real causes of the land occupation, resultant eviction and all legal processes that have been followed leading to the ultimate evictions. The outcomes of this Enquiry must be informative to the continued quest to find humane and lasting solutions to the housing challenges in our country. The competition for access to urban space as a result of rapid urbanization must engender the lawful approach by all the parties involved where both the property and individual rights are respected. It is hoped that the outcomes of this Enquiry will help the government to develop a system of educating our communities and other stakeholders in this regard. Government is concerned about unlawful occupation of land because systems have been put in place to deal with the housing challenges.

The Ministerial Enquiry will consist of the following persons;

Adv. D Potgieter SC (Chairperson) Ms NB Dambuza

Ms M Ramotsamai Ms J E Sosibo

Mr B Steyn Ms A van Wyk Mr B Xulu

3. ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE

Officials of the Department of Human Settlements as determined by the Minister may be assigned to assist the Enquiry as a Secretariat.

4. MANDATE

The Enquiry must:

(i) Investigate all the circumstances under which the evictions took place, and the history of the evictions, including the facts leading to the application for and obtaining of the court order on 24 January 2014 by SANRAL; the execution of the said court order by SANRAL; the role of the relevant Sheriff for the jurisdiction of Cape Town; the roles of the law enforcement officials of the South Africa Police Services, the Cape Town Metro Police and any other official of the national, provincial and local government involved and any other person;

(ii) Establish the identity of the members of the informal settlement community of Lwandle, how the community came to be on the land in question when there is waiting list for the provision of housing in terms of government programmes.

(iii) Report to the Minister on its investigation and findings; and

(iv) Make necessary recommendations to the Minister for consideration.

5. RESPONSIBILITIES

The Enquiry must carry out the following responsibilities:

(i) Obtain from SANRAL, National Department of Transport (DOT), City of Cape Town, Provincial Government all relevant documentation relating to the eviction;

(ii) Conduct interviews with the relevant officials of the parties mentioned in

(i) above and any other person that the Enquiry identifies as relevant to its work;

(iii) Obtain and view photographs, video and any other material of the eviction process;

(iv) Invite parties to make submissions to the Enquiry in the manner prescribed either on their own or through a representative; and

(v) Obtain and analyse the documents filed in the High Court and on which the Court Order was granted.

(i) All interviews and meetings held by the Enquiry must be minuted and a concise record kept.

(ii) The Enquiry may conduct interviews and/or hearings in public or private and in such location as may be convenient having regard to costs.

7. CONFIDENTIALITY

The Enquiry must conduct its work with due regard to the confidentiality necessary to be exercised in relation to the protection of the dignity and the rights of all persons as required by law.

8. COSTS OF ENQUIRY

The Department of Human Settlements shall, through the office of the Director General, bear the necessary costs for the conduct of the work of the Enquiry. In this regard, a reasonable budget shall be set aside and may be reclaimed from any party in terms of the law, if applicable.

9. INFORMAL NATURE OF ENQUIRY

The Enquiry shall conduct its work in an informal manner in order to allow for invited participants to assist the Enquiry.

The Minister may amend the Terms of Reference of the Enquiry in writing at any time as and when such a need arise.

11. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Enquiry shall report to the Minister for Human Settlements.

12. TERMS OF APPOINTMENT AND DURATION OF ENQUIRY

The Enquiry shall commence on the day of the appointment of the members on 4 June 2014 and shall conclude its work on 5 August 2014.

Statement issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements, June 5 2014

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