City responds to Minister Sisulu's statements on Lwandle
The City of Cape Town notes today's announcements by Human Settlements Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, on matters related to events that have unfolded in Lwandle.
The City has already provided humanitarian assistance by opening community facilities and through the provision of emergency supplies to those affected by the Sanral eviction process. We will provide further assistance during the course of tomorrow through the provision of emergency housing kits, to be erected on land provided by Sanral.
The City is on the only metro in the country that has enhanced emergency housing kits and is therefore able to provide such assistance at short notice.
We will also be watching very closely the terms of reference for the enquiry that has been established by Minister Sisulu. We expect that they will focus on the following:
The conduct of Sanral, especially as it relates to the timing of the enforcement of the interdict.
The failure of Sanral to purchase alternative land for the people who illegally invaded their land.
The attempts by the City of Cape Town to provide services to those people who illegally invaded the Sanral land.
The failure by Sanral to effectively manage the land in their ownership and to avert the unfortunate events of the last few days.
The enquiry itself, in order to have legitimacy and credibility, needs to be impartial and objective. In this regard it is concerning that the Minister has appointed Advocate Denzil Potgieter and Annelize van Wyk to head the enquiry. Both members of the enquiry have extremely close links to the ANC. Ms van Wyk in particular has already publicly expressed herself on the conduct of the City, which raises serious questions about her potential impartiality (see Twitter timeline here). We would therefore appeal to the Minister to add people to the enquiry who will be able to bring a more independent and objective perspective.
Statement issued by Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, June 5 2014
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