Rocky Park illegal residents told to leave

Residents illegally occupying the Rocky Park housing project in KwaDukuza have been told to leave immediately or face eviction.

This was the message delivered by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube in a media briefing last week after officials of the provincial Department of Human Settlements visited the site on Wednesday.

It is believed that more than 100 people currently occupy the buildings, which range from half-built to near finished and badly decaying.

Dube-Ncube said it was in the best interests of the occupants to leave, given the buildings are not fit for human habitation and that their presence is delaying the completion of the project.

“Preliminary risk assessments have concluded that further occupation could result in the possible collapse of some units. The department will open criminal cases against the illegal occupants should they not heed the call to vacate during the stipulated period. State agencies such as Saps, the National Prosecuting Authority and the provincial Treasury will be consulted during this period,” she said.

The eviction notices come after a two-year investigation into the housing project by the Premier’s office, after the KwaDukuza Municipality (KDM) requested outside help in 2021.

The exact scope of the investigation is unclear and the Premier’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Nevertheless, it seems clear there remains an impasse between those living at the project and the authorities.

When visited by the Courier on July 9, before the latest eviction notices were served, the illegal residents made it clear they would not leave peacefully unless other adequate housing was made available.

The last eviction took place in February this year, but the units were filled again within days.

Rocky Park began construction in 2010 with promises made to the community that housing would be made available for around 700 KwaDukuza residents.

It was initially reported that the first blocks would be complete by 2012.

After multiple delays and ballooning costs over the last 13 years, the project remains very much unfinished with crumbling building materials and long forgotten scaffolding littering the site.

KDM says the project has not been written off and will be restarted when possible.

“The municipality is working closely with the Department of Human Settlements to finalise the plan of executing the project. The plan is being developed and will be submitted to the province for approval after all key issues has been addressed,” said KDM spokesperson, Sipho Mkhize.

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