Minister Sisulu welcomes the Western Cape High Court Judgment, which declared the actions and conduct of the City of Cape Town - in demolishing and evicting the people of Hangberg in Hout Bay, Cape Town - as unlawful and unconstitutional.
The State will do everything to enforce this court order and ensure that the City of Cape Town Officials comply. As the court said, such evictions are in violation of Section 36 (1) of Alert Level 3 regulations made in terms of section 27 (2) of the Disaster Management Act of 2002.
The Department also welcomes the court’s instructions, which state that the City must rebuild the same size and dimensions of the structures they demolished within 48 hours of the court granting the order.
The South African legislation prohibits evictions of residents and the State is obliged to ensure that such violations of residents' human rights has consequences and is stopped immediately.
Section 26(3) of the Constitution states that “no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances.’'
The Constitution further prohibits any intimidation, cutting off of services, or any other measure that makes residents living conditions unbearable in order to evict them.
The State will therefore intervene to enforce the Constitution and the Disaster Management Act which gives effect to Alert Level 3 regulations.
The State has a duty to protect the rights of all residents.
Enquiries: Please contact Yonela Diko, Ministry Spokesperson on 0767243062
