Residents of Kayamandi in Stellenbosch have had enough of the promises that were made by their municipality and politicians who flock to the area to campaign for votes at election time. They were promised new houses but moved to temporary vibacrete houses they still occupy since 2005.
CAPE TOWN - Years of broken promises and living in squalor while the local municipality decides what is best for the residents of Stellenbosch has dampened the spirit around the upcoming election.
As the country readies itself to head to the polls on Monday, informal dwellers in Kayamandi and Watergang settlements in Stellenbosch said they were disinterested in making their mark as they still lived in homes that were supposedly for “temporary living” while they wait for homes of their own.
Living in a vibracrete-type structure since 2005, Ntomboxolo Mafilika said she was hopeless that her living conditions in the Watergang informal settlement would change.
She said she would not be voting in the upcoming elections.
“I have been living here since my son, who is now 16-years-old, was crawling.
“I was moved to a temporary structure after living in a shack.
“Since moving in here we were told that it will only be temporary and they said we wouldn't be staying here for long, but they didn’t say for how long.
“It has now been years and we are still in the same situation,” said Mafilika.
The mom of four, who shares the structure with seven people, said they lacked basic services.
“We do not have running toilets and when you want to use the toilets, you have to walk far to facilities that aren’t working properly and are too little to accommodate the community.
“And our homes are affected badly in harsh weather.
“If it rains, our homes become waterlogged, the walls are wet and damp for days which creates mould.
“And being inside your house on a hot day is unbearable as the structure becomes very hot,” said Mafilika.
Residents of Watergang and the Azania informal settlements, which has grown exponentially since 2018, have been in the area since land grabs started encroaching on the Louisenhof Wine Estate.
Informal dwellers, with a desperate plight for housing, have since moved onto the private farm land which resulted in an ongoing eviction court battle.
Community activist and local CPF member, Noku Katom, said the Kayamandi community, which falls under the ANC-run ward 12, got the short end of the stick, while “decisions are made on our behalf without consulting with the community on the needs”.
“Housing developments in the area have not been moving for many years. It’s like we’re a forgotten community despite how big the Kayamandi area is. Basic services are largely lacking in the area.
“We don’t even know who our ward councillors are because they are not visible.
“People are demotivated by the elections because they get the same empty promises every election year.
“Our needs are not being heard.
“The Stellenbosch Municipality has a tendency of making decisions without properly consulting the community for what our needs are,” said Katom.
Current ANC ward 12 councillor, Nokuthula Gugushe, said despite the challenges, they were confident they would retain the ward in the upcoming elections.
“Currently there are plans with the Zone O project which will create RDP housing opportunities for residents in Watergang, Azania and TRA settlements.
“There is currently a process of verifying the names of beneficiaries first,” said Gugushe.
Klapmuts resident and Good Party ward candidate, John Jacobs, said their frustration of not having a high school in the area has been mounting for decades.
“We have 16 buses carting children out of the community to go to neighbouring communities to attend high school.
“Stellenbosch Municipality doesn’t care about its people and rather sells off land to private developers and business owners instead of making land available for a high school in our community,” said Jacobs.
In a budget tabled by the DA-led Stellenbosch municipality earlier this year, mayor Gesie van der Venter said R12 million would be made available for Kayamandi Town Centre as housing “remains a challenge”.
The allocation, the largest under the municipality’s human settlements budget, had “been budgeted for housing projects over the next three years to create more housing opportunities”.
However, upon enquiry, municipal spokesperson Stuart Grobelaar said the R12million was for Kayamandi CBD upgrades where the municipality is “responsible for ensuring services to these sites such as water and electricity and act as the implementing agent for housing developments with funds received from national and provincial.”
Grobbelaar said an agreement was reached between the municipality and community leaders that no further illegal land invasions occurred at Watergang and Azania informal settlements.
“An agreement was reached with community leaders that no new structures may be erected.
“The municipality is providing free basic water and cleaning service to these residents.
“A consultant has been appointed to investigate the feasibility of the development of the Northern Extension that will potentially provide a mix of housing opportunities.
“This ground was acquired by the municipality at a high cost (R64 Milion),” said Grobbelaar.
Grobbelaar referred enquiries regarding a high school in Klapmuts to the education department as municipalities “do not build or manage schools”.
Cape Times