Media statement by the Chairperson of the Ministerial enquiry on Lwandle evictions, Cape Town
30 Jun 2014
On 4 June 2014 the Minister of Human Settlements, Honourable Lindiwe Sisulu established a Ministerial Enquiry into the evictions of the members of the informal settlement community on Erf 32524, Lwandle/Nomzamo, Strand at the instance of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) pursuant to a court order issued by the Western Cape High Court, Cape Town on 24 January 2014.
The decision to appoint the enquiry has been taken in pursuance of the duties of the Minister set out in Sections 2 and 3 of the Housing Act, 107 of 1997 read together with the Bill of Rights contained in Chapter 2 of the Constitution.
The mandate of the enquiry includes to:
(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 African 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 affected members of the informal settlement community of Lwandle, how the community came to be on the land in question when there is a waiting list for the provision of housing in terms of government programmes.
(iii) Report on its investigation and findings; and
(iv) Make necessary recommendations to the Minister for consideration.
The Minister is desirous to establish the real causes of the land occupation, resultant evictions 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.
Factors to be considered in this regard include the competition for access to limited urban space as a result of rapid urbanization; the effect of the unlawful occupation of land on the efficacy of the systems that have been put in place to deal with the housing challenges facing the country; and the need to respect both individual and property rights when addressing land occupation and to educate communities and other stakeholders in this regard.
The enquiry would like to appeal to all individual members of the community and/or organisations that might be affected and/or interested parties to provide information/comment relevant to the subject-matter and mandate of the enquiry. It is indispensable for fulfilling the mandate of the enquiry that all relevant information and perspectives should be obtained and be considered in coming to any conclusions.
To this end, all relevant parties were invited to provide written submissions and/or comments relevant to the subject-matter and mandate of the enquiry. The process for submissions/comments together with any relevant documentation and records commenced on Monday 23rd June and the deadline was Friday, 27 June 2014, and was communicated through various communication channels which included newspaper advertisements and radio, as well as other relevant communication methods. The Secretariat of the enquiry would consider accepting any suitably motivated submissions that are not substantially out of time given the short life-span of the enquiry.
It was also expected of all the potential participants to indicate whether they or their organisations wish to make an oral presentation at a public hearing. However, the requests for oral submissions are to be considered and approved by the Commission and does not guarantee that such a request will be granted.
The actual hearings are expected to commence around the middle of July 2014 and the venue will be communicated at a later stage.
The first round of hearings will focus on concerned institutions/entities having had a direct role in the evictions.
Members of the community who are directly affected by the evictions will be heard in a subsequent round of hearings at a venue convenient to them. A further communication will follow regarding the exact dates and venues of public hearings. In the interest of transparency and meaningful public participation the enquiry will conduct its hearings in public.
Statement issued by Department of Human Settlements, June 30 2014
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