10 September 2007
We recognise the right of people to express their views and protest, but
this government will not tolerate indiscriminate violence where property is
vandalised.
Where the law has been broken and property vandalised we urge the South
African Police Service to use all available measures at their disposal to
investigate and prosecute those responsible.
Thubelisha, as the project manager of the N2 Gateway Pilot Project, is
responsible for interacting with residents, and we have the fullest confidence
in their handling of it. Their consultation with communities is ongoing, at the
cost of delaying construction of the project. The violence today is therefore
completely unjustified. Thubelisha will be reporting to us on a daily basis on
the developments and we urge residents to work with them.
Residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement must decide whether they wish
to co-operate with government. In this way they will qualify for housing
opportunities. If they choose not to cooperate, they will be removed completely
from all housing waiting lists.
We were informed by officials of the South African Police Service that the
protesters called themselves Pan African Congress (PAC) members, and that they
were joined by a PAC city councillor, Councillor Joka. We will be investigating
this to ensure that appropriate steps are taken.
If indeed this was a PAC protest, it would confirm our worst suspicion that
opportunistic individuals and/or parties are using Cape Town¹s housing crisis
to their advantage.
I have a meeting with the PAC leadership in Parliament today to discuss the
matter.
Representatives of national and provincial departments of housing are
monitoring the situation. We take note of the comments made by the Mayor of
Cape Town and are happy to deal with this matter on our own.
For more information please call:
Monwabisi Maclean
Cell: 082 882 2962
Issued by: Ministry of Housing
10 September 2007
