The forced removal of more than 200 shack dwellers from the Mathomba informal settlement next to Cradlestone Mall started in all earnest on June 20.

But the residents, community leaders, and an activist from the Bread of Life Christian Foundation, Siboniso Sithole, are not happy with the apparently haphazard and unplanned way the move is being handled.

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According to Sithole, who took the News on a tour of the settlement on the second day of the process (June 21), families had been split up during the move due to the fact that some had to stay behind to look after the few belongings the Red Ants had not moved to the new area in Ward 33 yet.

A community leader, Dorah Julius said, “We do not mind being moved there but there is no infrastructure for us – no water and no temporary toilets. None of our shacks are up yet. Here at least we had one tap for the community and a little shelter against the cold.”

Sithole said heartbreaking scenes played out since the removal started with little children and the elderly not eating for two days and sleeping out in the cold.

I have tried to talk to the relevant authorities but they send me from pillar to post. They are passing the buck. It seems the Mogale City DA government and the ANC provincial government are not on the same page, and now the most vulnerable in our society are being caught in the crossfire,” said Sithole who with the non-profit organisation he had helped to start, had been tending to both the spiritual and physical needs of the people of the settlement for the past four years.

At the time of publication, there were conflicting reports as to who gave the instruction for the move and why.

The News is in the process of obtaining comment from Mogale City Local Municipality.