Category

Protests

Mar 16
0

WSU students strike after being evicted for outstanding rental

By | Eviction news, Evictions, Protests, Student evictions

Reprinted from News24, by Babalwa Ndlanya – 2022-03-15

About 1 000 students from Zamukulungisa WSU Campus in Mthatha were left stranded after their landlords allegedly evicted them from their place of residences yesterday, March 14.

The landlords were demanding money for rent as the students owed rent for three months.

This was confirmed by the Provincial Executive Committee Member of South African Students Congress (SASCO) in the Eastern Cape, Emihle Goniwe.

He said he was not sure about the number of students who were evicted but they are close to 1 000.

“We received a call informing us about this problem. As we speak now we are embarking on a strike because we want this issue to be solved immediately and we want answers from the University because we know that funds were allocated by the Government to assist the Universities of the Eastern Cape,” said Goniwe.

Spokesperson for Walter Sisulu University, Yonela Tukwayo, said like every other university and college they charge fees for tuition and accommodation. The University does not give free accommodation to students and no institution of higher learning does that.

“Students that had not paid for accommodation were given ample warning to vacate residences by March 7, 2022 to make space for students who are funded (by the state, private companies or self-funded) who had applied for accommodation to take up those spaces,” said Tukwayo.

She added that bursary funding that WSU has received from various funders have set criteria, which the University must adhere to.

Many funders opt to fund undergraduate qualification, instead of funding those who already have a qualification. Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students are those who already have a formal qualifications (diploma or degree).

“Donations were received for PGCE and are being allocated, however the money received is not enough to fund all registered PGCE students.”

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a Cape Town law firm of specialist eviction lawyers, now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with rental property issues. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or simon@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you need help with any aspect of a lease or landlord-tenant relations.

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Tenants’ rights

Feb 01
0

Protest over ’heartless’ manner in which elderly are being moved from Cape Flats old-age homes

By | COVID 19, Eviction news, Eviction notice, Eviction orders, Eviction videos, Evictions, Protests
In protest over the CPOA’s old-age homes being closed down, a peaceful picket is being held at Nerina Place in Bishop Lavis today. Picture: Vanessa Adrianse
In protest over the CPOA’s old-age homes being closed down, a peaceful picket is being held at Nerina Place in Bishop Lavis today. Picture: Vanessa Adrianse

Cape Town – The Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged (CPOA) has been slated over the ’’heartless’’ manner in which it has gone about closing three old-age homes on the Cape Flats due to financial constraints brought on by the Covid-19 lockdown.

In protest over the CPOA’s old-age homes being closed down, a peaceful picket is being held at Nerina Place in Bishop Lavis today, with only 50 people taking part due to Covid-19 lockdown regulations. Nerina Place has about 100 residents.

The protesters comprise residents from Bishop Lavis, Bonteheuwel and Heideveld.

The Nerina Place residents are due to be moved tomorrow and the protesters want it to be suspended with immediate effect. They are also calling for a thorough audit to be done of the CPOA’s books, urging the government to step in immediately.

Picture: Vanessa Adrianse

The CPOA said in a statement last month Nerina Place, Lilyhaven Place in Bonteheuwel and Oakhaven in Heideveld are being shut down. Despite subsidies from the Department of Social Development, the CPOA said it has accumulated losses amounting to R265 million in the past 10 years.

It added that ’’after long and intensive discussions between senior management and the board of directors, CPOA has decided it must close three of its five welfare homes’’.

Vanessa Adrianse, from Heideveldt Mothers For Justice, is incensed by the fact that there has been no consultation with the community regarding the old-age homes being closed down.

Adrianse believes it is tantamount to an “eviction’’. She says the community would have found a solution had they been consulted.

’’All the community organisations in Heideveld have partnered on this protest. Why must the elderly be moved during the heart of the Covid pandemic? The CPOA is heartless and there has been no consultation with the community organisations.

Picture: Vanessa Adrianse

’’Where are they taking these people? We haven’t been informed. If they are closing down because of a lack of funding, the CPOA could have come and spoken to us and we could have made a plan. We could have taken over and applied to government for assistance.

’’The old people are sitting on the stoep of the old-age home at the moment and pleading with us to prevent them from being evicted. Saying the elderly are being ’moved’ is just a nice way of saying they are being evicted, because if someone doesn’t want to go, then you force them.

’’Sometimes their families don’t care about them any more and then after so many years, they become each other’s family.

’’They don’t want to be moved. They are happy here. Some of them are not from Bishop Lavis and they get visits like once every two months. Now they are moving further away.

’’Surely they won’t have place for everyone in one place. If they are all going to one place, why move them from a place where they are comfortable.

“If there is enough funding to take them to another place, then why don’t they use the funds to keep them here.

“Other questions that need answering are about what will happen to the pension and income of the old people here. Why not use that pension to help sustain them?’’

There is also a concern that if they don’t rent out the rooms to people in the area when it closes down, gangsters will vandalise the building and people in the area won’t be safe.

“That is why we are protesting here today, to highlight all these issues,’’ said Adrianse.

Reprinted from IOL

Links added by SD Law

*Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a Cape Town law firm of specialist eviction lawyers, and now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our attorneys on 086 099 5146 or sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or want to know the cost of eviction.

Further reading:

Oct 01
0

Shots fired as police and protesters clash over evictions

By | Eviction news, Eviction videos, Evictions, Protests

Reprinted from Talk of the Town, by Iavan Pijoos – 2020-09-29

Communities in the south of Johannesburg took to the streets on Monday morning to voice their frustration about possible evictions in the area.

Johannesburg metro cops and the police were out in full force in Lenasia South and Lawley early on Monday to contain protesters. Roads in the area were blocked with burning tyres, bags with rubbish, rocks and tree branches. Officers fired rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

By midday on Monday, traffic was flowing but some roads were still being lined with rubbish and rocks. Heavily armed officers and police nyalas stood on the side of the road.

Children were removing some of the rocks as motorists were driving past.

Ennerdale ward 7 councillor Danny Netnow told TimesLIVE that the protests erupted after unconfirmed reports about possible evictions in the area. Netnow said the people were also unhappy about water and electricity cuts in the informal settlement.

He said schools had been closed after the protests around Ennerdale.

In recent months, the Red Ants have demolished scores of illegally erected dwellings — some made of brick and mortar — in the area, under instruction from city officials.

Contact us

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a firm of specialist eviction lawyers, based in Cape Town and now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction. We also offer online consultations.

Further reading: