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The city of Johannesburg has agreed to provide temporary shelter to the Lakeview residents whose shacks were demolished by the Red Ants last week.
Mayor Geoff Makhubo and the SA Human Rights Commission released a joint statement on Friday afternoon after meeting with the lawyers of Lawley’s Extensions 4 and 5 residents.
“The engagement [on Thursday] was to explore whether there was any scope for a mediated solution between the parties.
“Parties have agreed that there should not be any further land invasions as it undermines the city’s planning and limited resources. It further undermines the rights of other law abiding residents who patiently and legally remain on the housing waiting list,” read the statement.
The municipality also agreed to stop demolitions in Lawley until the end of the nationwide lockdown.
Last week, the Red Ants accompanied by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department officers, demolished more than 80 shacks in the area.
This was despite the amended Covid-19 regulations which state that no one should be evicted during the lockdown – including those in informal settlements.
Government appealed to municipalities and private property owners to suspend evictions during the lockdown as a result of the pandemic.
Earlier this month Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu called on municipalities to suspend water cuts and evictions.
“Apart from the suspensions in evictions, there should be no cutting off of water for any citizens during this period. Instead, all efforts should be focused on fighting the spread of the virus,” Sisulu said at the time.
The municipality, which was widely criticised for carrying out the evictions, said the residents had erected illegal structures on land set aside for housing projects.
The SAHRC intervened: “The commission views the land occupation as symptomatic of an acute need for housing near economic opportunities and the slow progress of land reform.”
As part of the agreement, the city of Johannesburg “will address questions of homelessness which may have ensued by providing temporary shelter to the affected residents. This is subject to a verification process to be overseen by the Commission”.
“As the city we welcome the engagement by the commission and are hopeful that working together we can tackle the challenges of homelessness and the provision of shelter within the city. There are massive challenges and to meet the demands, we cannot allow unplanned growth and development of the city,” Makhubo said.
At a media briefing on Tuesday, Gauteng human settlements, cooperative governance and traditional affairs MEC Lebogang Maile said the demolished houses were “incomplete, new and unoccupied”.
He said the protests in Lawley at the weekend in response to the demolitions were instigated by a “criminal syndicate” illegally selling vacant land.
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