Nombini Mafilikana has a reptile phobia, but her home is in the heart of snake territory.
Mafilikana, 47, admitted this week that she invaded their territory. But she said she had nowhere else to live, and because Driftsands Nature Reserve, Cape Town, stood vacant she moved in.
She is among thousands of people who set up homes on public and private land across the city during the national lockdown. Wood and tin structures dot about 100ha of the nature reserve, managed by CapeNature. Residents have renamed it “Covid-19”.
“I have lived in Covid-19 for the past four months. I was a backyarder in Site C, Khayelitsha, for many years. I have nine children and am unemployed. I need a proper home,” Mafilikana said.
She said authorities demolished her shack three times, but she would not move. A rickety structure she now calls home stands on a scarred sand dune.
“CapeNature authorities have told us that they are keeping this land for snakes. I am scared of reptiles, but I have no choice, I have to live with the snakes. There are all types of snakes here, but we are going nowhere,” she said.
The City of Cape Town has been grappling with a wave of land invasions since the lockdown started. Councillor Malusi Booi, the mayoral committee member of human settlements, said the land invasions threatened “projects to the value of R1.3bn”. He said the city had removed more than 60,000 “illegal unoccupied structures” set up on land earmarked for the city’s housing programmes, among other things.
Booi said hundreds of hectares of private and public land had been invaded in the city. A planned R25.8m clinic in Khayelitsha, which will serve 80,000 people annually, is also under threat after the land demarcated for the project was invaded.
CapeNature authorities have told us that they are keeping this land for snakes.
Thembani Ndulumbana, 36, introduced himself as the “leader” of the sprawling Covid-19 settlement this week. He said he worked in the film industry before being retrenched and had had no income for the past six months. He was kicked out of a backyard flat he rented in a neighbouring township when he could not pay. “I moved here on July 13 because I was homeless,” he said.
“I had to find a piece of land to build a shack after I was retrenched from work because of Covid-19. We were told that this land belongs to CapeNature. We are asking the government that we voted into power to provide us with proper places to live.”
Ndulumbana said more than 8,285 people lived in the nature reserve. Petro van Rhyn, spokesperson for CapeNature, said the nature reserve contributed to the protection of the “Cape Flats Dune Strandveld, an endangered vegetation type, endemic to the Western Cape”.
CapeNature has a high court order preventing invasion of the reserve, permitting the removal of structures on its boundaries. But Rhyn said the national state of disaster prevented the evacuation of people – even if the occupation is illegal.
“The natural ecosystem, containing sensitive wetlands, and plants and animals of conservation concern, inside the nature reserve is negatively affected by people and vehicles moving around and trampling veld, and specifically by the clearing of natural veld for demarcating plots and erecting structures,” said Van Rhyn.
“The natural dune system is also affected by the removal of sand which could compromise ecosystem integrity. Most concerning, however, is the potential disturbance and pollution by human waste of sensitive wetlands which form a natural part of the reserve ecosystem.”
“The majority of the unlawful occupations have been organised, hundreds of ready-made structures brought in by trucks and bakkies at a time, instigated either by political parties or shack farming syndicates making a lot of money out of this,” said Booi.
“The city has always been clear that there definitely is a great housing need out there as well, exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis as well as the dire state of the SA economy. Local governments which are at the coalface of communities are the ones that are dealing the most with the impacts from the dysfunctional national economy. But its efforts are very much concentrated on the large-scale organised illegal occupations. The city will continue to do everything in its power to prevent unlawful occupation.”
The majority of the unlawful occupations have been organised, hundreds of ready-made structures brought in by trucks and bakkies at a time.
— Booi
The city’s draft human settlement strategy is out for public participation. Booi said the city recognises the need for “housing opportunities that are situated on well-located land near urban centres across the metro, close to public transport, employment opportunities and economic nodes”.
“Within the next 10 years, there will be a shortfall in the development of formal housing opportunities of approximately 30,000 every year, assuming the average annual rate of supply by both the private and public sectors remains unchanged. This is why the city has been doing extensive work for some years to map a way forward to enable greater participation in the housing market,” said Booi.
“To accommodate this growth as well as manage the existing housing demand, it is estimated that roughly 500,000 housing opportunities need to be created between now and 2028. We need innovation and greater private sector partnerships and radical national housing reform. If we cannot get the reform we seek, we need to look at what we can do within our current ambit and context.
“The city already spends almost all the money it is allocated for housing projects and national housing budgets are being cut at the same time. It simply cannot be the sole provider of affordable housing opportunities.
“We need to look at giving incentives to recognised informal settlement dwellers to ensure informal houses become safer for residents; we need to look at greater site and service and upgrade options; we need to get micro-developers and micro-financiers on board, and we definitely need to get more private sector support and innovation if we are to overcome the challenge.”
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