Pretoria – The ministerial enquiry set up to investigate the evictions in Lwandle in Cape Town will commence with public hearings on Monday, says the Department of Human Settlements.
The venue for the first round of public hearings will be the Good Hope Sub-Council Building, 44 Wale Street, starting at 10am.
The first round of hearings will focus on institutions/entities that have had a direct role in the evictions.
Community members who were directly affected by the evictions will be heard in a subsequent round of hearings.
The last category of hearings will concentrate on other parties, such as non-governmental organisations.
The department said the venues and times for the other hearings will be communicated in due course.
“In the interest of transparency and meaningful public participation, the enquiry will conduct its hearings in public and everyone interested can attend on a first come first served basis due to space limitations,” said the department on Friday.
The ministerial enquiry was appointed by Human Settlements Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, on 4 June to investigate the eviction of more than 800 residents from their informal settlements, following a court order that they be removed as the land they stayed on was being occupied illegally.
The land in question was reportedly owned by the SA National Roads Agency (Sanral), which is earmarked for road construction.
Their shacks were demolished and set alight. Many people lost most or all of their possessions.
The minister gave the Commission of Enquiry two months to report back with the findings that would reveal the circumstances that led to the inhumane evictions.
The enquiry has been mandated to investigate all the circumstances under which the evictions took place, and the history of the evictions, including the facts leading to the application for and obtaining of the court order on 24 January 2014 by SANRAL.
It will probe the execution of the court order by SANRAL and the role of the relevant Sheriff for the jurisdiction of Cape Town; the roles of the SAPS, the Cape Town Metro Police and any other official of the national, provincial and local government involved.
The enquiry will also aim to establish the identity of the affected members of the informal settlement community of Lwandle and how the community came to be on the land in question when there is a waiting list for the provision of housing in terms of government programmes.
The department said all relevant parties were invited to provide written submissions and/or comments. The process for submissions opened on 23 June and closed on 27 June.
“The responses have been considered by the enquiry and the relevant entities and individuals have been notified and invited to make oral presentations at the hearings,” said the department. – SAnews.gov.za
