By Rachel Mohamed
Thousands of families in Cape Town and throughout South Africa live in unsafe or unsuitable conditions, such as under power pylons, along railway lines, near flood-prone rivers, or on highways. 46 families in Langa were recently relocated from beneath Eskom pylons to safer housing.
Nkanyiso Gumede, a researcher at the Institute for Poverty, Land, and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape, told VOC News that relocation in this context is a symptom of a larger issue.
“There is no coherent housing program in place, and the land reform program is failing to make land available for people to live on.”
“In this case, these are people who were relocated because they were living on land that was unsuitable for human settlement, posing a risk. The reason for this is that people do not have enough money to buy a house or land due to high unemployment in our country.”
Gumede went on to say that the only ways for people to get land and housing right now are through the market, where they can buy a house or land, or through the state. This is why you’ll find people living in these unsuitable places, where they risk being removed.
Listen to the full interview:
VOC News
Photo: Pixabay
