Centurion’s NP council believes it is=20 creating affordable housing, but the ANC=20 says it is separate development, writes=20 Stuart Hess
TO the council of Centurion, the=20 development they are planning on 30=20 hectares of vacant land outside city limits=20 is a gesture to the new South Africa,=20 affordable housing for the increasing=20 numbers of squatters moving into the area.
But to members of the Pretoria branch of=20 the African National Congress, the=20 Centurion council, which is controlled by=20 the National Party, is creating what=20 amounts to an “apartheid-style township”, a=20 separate development for its newest black=20 residents.
The development in dispute is 10km from=20 Centurion, formerly known as Verwoerdburg.=20 Its opponents insist that there is suitable=20 land much closer to the city.
The planned development came to the ANC’s=20 attention when Centurion established three=20 “transit camps”, where the squatters are to=20 live until the new housing is completed.
The largest camp, known as=20 Olievenhoutbosch, has about 100 families=20 living in it. They do so under the tight=20 control of the city council, which has=20 erected razor wire fences around the border=20 and brought in security guards to stand=20 watch at the entrance. So controlled is=20 access to the camp that the guards, upon=20 seeing a Mail & Guardian reporter and=20 photographer interviewing residents, forced=20 them to leave.=20
The ANC metropolitan branch in Pretoria=20 this week strongly criticised the NP for=20 its handling of the matter saying it was=20 reminiscent of the “old apartheid system”.=20 The development was actually started by the=20 state-run South African Housing Trust, but=20 the Centurion council asked to take over=20 the project, and paid the housing trust=20 some R350 000 for the land, a price of R11=20 000 per hectare.
“There must be a move away from black=20 townships which the NP is attempting to=20 create in Olievenhoutbosch,” said Donsie=20 Khumalo, a member of the Pretoria=20 metropolitan council’s executive committee.=20 He said the area proposed for development=20 was isolated and lacked amenities, that it=20 was too far from schools and shops.
Bafana Sibisi, ANC secretary for the=20 Pretoria metropolitan branch, accused the=20 council of playing politics with the=20 squatters by promising them housing that=20 would be completed in 1997, just in time=20 for local government elections.
Sibisi also accused the NP of actually=20 recruiting squatters from Alexandra=20 township to increase their support for the=20 proposed development. “They promised those=20 people houses and by doing so they were=20 guaranteed more support,” he said.
Residents of the Olievenhoutbosch squatter=20 camp were divided about their situation.=20 Many refused to be named because they=20 feared reprisals from fellow residents.
One resident, who had moved to the squatter=20 camp from Alexandra, supported the=20 council’s decision to build a transit camp.=20 “The council is trying to give us better=20 facilities while they build our houses,”=20 said the resident who said he had lived in=20 the camp for nearly two months. He said he=20 felt safer near Centurion than he had in=20 Alexandra and that he was grateful for the=20 security the council provided.=20
But a single mother, tending a small=20 vegetable patch outside her front door,=20 said she was impatient for a solution to=20 the housing problem. “I have stayed here=20 for four years and worked hard to look=20 after my three children when my boyfriend=20 disappeared,” she said. “I want my house=20 now not in two years.”=20
The woman said she was a member of the=20 Thathzakho Community Trust, which=20 represents long-time residents of the=20 squatter settlement. The trust is seeking=20 tenure rights to ensure that long-term=20 residents have a place in any future=20 development, and to ensure that residents=20 have some say in the development.
The trust has asked for help from the Legal=20 Resources Centre (LRC) because they are=20 unhappy that the council failed to consult=20 them before building the transit camp.
A representative for the LRC, Durkje=20 Gilifillan, said the council wanted to=20 control all aspects of the development in=20 Olivienhoutbosch. “They do not want to=20 build these houses near Centurion because=20 they want to maintain their lily-white=20 image,” she said. “There should be a more=20 concerted effort to push for integrated=20 development.”=20
Asmita Thakor, ANC councillor for=20 Olievenhoutbosch, agreed, saying there is=20 vacant land ready for development near the=20 city. “Centurion already has=20 infrastructure, such as water pipes and=20 electricity pylons, in place,” she said.=20 “It would be far more convenient to build=20 houses nearer the town.”