‘Those houses are meant for us’
Details of protests on Tudor Road emerge.
Residents of Tudor Shaft informal settlement in Chamdor are fed up with their ward councillor’s alleged constant negligent transfer of ‘friends’ to the new extension in Kagiso they believe is meant for them.
The National Nuclear Regulator had found that portions of the land on which the informal settlement has developed had uranium deposits with the potential of exposing people to radioactivity.
The government then set aside R32 million to relocate the residents of Tudor Shaft to the Leratong Nodal Development, Kagiso Extension 13, Chief Mogale Phase 2 and other developments around the city.
Silvia Barnard, who is part of the Federation of Sustainable Environments (FSE) and a resident of the informal settlement, together with Mogale City Infrastructure and other parties devised a plan to relocate the residents. Silvia believes it is her social responsibility to ensure the safety of the people living there.
The municipality started relocating the 197 families living in the informal settlement in September this year.
At first the project ran smoothly, with the first group of 60 people being relocated.
Since then, various delays have caused the residents not to be moved and this caused them to become restless.
On Friday, 11 November it was allegedly discovered that the ward councillor for the area relocated 50 people from Soul City to the houses that were allegedly meant for the remaining residents of Tudor Shaft.
One of the Tudor Shaft residents said the councillor was acquainted with those people and moved them because of her relationship with them.
Only 17 people from Tudor Shaft were relocated that day.
The residents then started protesting against this decision. They barricaded Tudor Road with rocks and waste skips. Some burnt tyres and stoned approaching vehicles. No injuries were reported.
Mogale City Traffic Department officials later blocked off the road to ensure motorists’ safety.
The protest lasted almost the entire day, with no real impact on the councillor’s decision.
The 50 people from Soul City were still loaded onto a large truck under the watchful eye of a large group of Red Ants and were relocated to Kagiso.
Arguments between councillors, EFF members and residents could be heard all over while the residents jumped onto the truck.
On Monday, 14 November the protests continued, but have had little effect.
“The Council mustn’t be involved with the relocation because they move their friends instead of the people,” Silvia said.
The councillor has also started to sell the property on which some of the Tudor Shaft shacks were built.
“This is why we are angry,” Silvia said. “They make decisions without the residents’ inputs. Those houses are meant for us.”
More than 120 families are still waiting to be relocated.
When the councillor was approached for comment on the scene, she jumped into her vehicle. She, accompanied by two men armed with shotguns as escorts, left the scene in a hurry. All attempts to reached her have failed.
The Traffic Department has warned motorists who often use Tudor Road to rather use alternative routes to reach their destinations until the issue is resolved.
Altercations between the residents and the relocation officials are continuing.
Related articles:
• Squatter camp relocation: too close for comfort
• Broken promises haunt informal settlers
