A Mitchells Plain ward councillor in Cape Town has reiterated that he will not support a move to relocate a group of shack dwellers who were living on the Langa train tracks to the area.
This is after stakeholders like PRASA and the Housing Development Agency signed an agreement on the matter last week.
Other stakeholders included the City of Cape Town, the provincial Department of Human Settlements and the communities of Langa, Phillipi and Khayelitsha.
The agreement is said to outline the role each stakeholder will play in the relocation process — after government entities acquired the Philippi Wedge area, as the land where the shack dwellers will move to.
However, Councillor Elton Jansen says residents in that community were not given an opportunity to share their views.
“[There are] existing problems and challenges on the Wedge that needs to be addressed first. And quite frankly, PRASA’s incompetence to protect its own land is the main cause for the informal settlement that sprung up on the Central Line. We’ve got crime, we’ve got lack of services, we’ve got so many things that we need to address on the Wedge.”
Image: Facebook/Cllr. Elton Jansen – Ward 43
