Minister for Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi says she has declared a dispute with the City of Cape Town in terms of the Inter-Governmental Relations Framework Act.
This is in relation to the City’s refusal to purchase land on behalf of the Housing Development Agency (HDA) to permanently resettle about 900 households illegally occupying land belonging to PRASA.
The train services have not been able to operate as many of the structures are placed on the railway tracks. Kubayi says the only way they can purchase this land is if the City of Cape Town buys it on behalf of the Housing Development Agency and says that the City is making it unnecessarily difficult for them.
She says they had allocated R50 million to the City to purchase the land but that they had returned it to National Treasury.
“When we asked National Treasury to send the money to us so that we can give it to HDA they refused because it is part of the equitable share and they do the study. We put the services there, SOP that the people are permanently resettled.”
Meanwhile in July 2022, PRASA said it will approach the High Court for yet another extension regarding the relocation of families living on a railway line at Siyahlala informal settlement in Langa in Cape Town.
PRASA filed a court application early in 2022 for their eviction.
