Kruger Park Timeline ??? 21 January 1994
3 October 2006
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Completion date? Pretoria News: the Department of Housing and Works: House Assembly plan to sell 1232 (813 and 319 respectively) flats in Schubart Park and KrugerPark under sectional title to the present tenants; but the offer will be extended to outside interests if the tenants fail to buy. The sell of the flats will begin in February. Tenants who could not afford to buy would not be forced to vacate their flats. When tenants first heard about the deal they were initially panicky and some have already moved. Little has been heard from them since. Pretoria News: Hundreds of residents have been forced to endure flooding, interruptions in the water supply and walking up unlit staircases as promised maintenance and repairs to Kruger Park remain incomplete. One resident stated that the lifts had not been working since last September [13 months ago]. Pretoria News: A number of people had to be rushed to hospital and treated for smoke inhalation after a rubbish chute in Kruger Park caught fire. Angry residents describe the block of flats as a death trap. A former city council member who used to do maintenance work on the building referred to a numerous faults that would have lead to any other building being closed down (water leaking onto live electric cables; smoke extractor fans that don’t work; some of the fire extinguishers have not been services in five years and many of the lights don’t work). Letters have been sent to council asking them to upgrade the fire fighting equipment. It is believed that the waste chute became blocked and then somehow caught on fire.
7 May 2008
Pretoria News: Residents in Schubart Park and Kruger Park have accused the Tshwane Metro Council’s Housing Company Tshwane (HCT) of deliberately allowing their building to deteriorate to legitimize their eviction from the flats and of pocketing the money that should be going to maintenance. The residents and the council have been at loggerheads since the council sent notices to the 7000 residents that they must vacate the premises by September. The building is in a terrible state with sewage flowing freely from broken pipes, lifts not working, garbage not being collected and electrical wires have been left open and the main transmitter which handles the power of the entire complex is surrounded by water that has accumulated over time.
14 July 2008
Pretoria News: Residents show signs of resistance when Ramokgopa explains that they will have to move out for renovations to take place.
16 July 2008
Pretoria News: About 500 residents march to Munitoria calling for an investigation into the mismanagement of the two buildings.
22 July 2008
Pretoria News: Five people (including a toddler) die in a fire at Kruger Park as the evictions are being carried out. These people either fell to their deaths or died from smoke inhalation after the Kruger Park flats were set alight by mobs feeing the Red Ants. A total of 25 people, including a fire fighter, were injured in the blaze. The Red Ants, acting on orders from the Tshwane Metro Council after it had obtained an eviction order, moved into Schubart Park flats yesterday on a mission to evict 38 tenants who were rent defaulters. Residents hurled petrol bombs and some torched dustbins and overturned rubbish bins while others clashed with the Red Ants. The SAPS and Metro Police fired rubber bullets at tenants. The residents from Schubart Park retreated to Kruger Park. A resident of Kruger Park said that she saw men pouring petrol onto the stairs and along passages before lighting it.
23 July 2008
Pretoria News: The eviction of Schubart Park and Kruger Park residents has been put on hold pending the finalization of the court order. The Pretoria High Court ruled yesterday that 38 tenants placed on an eviction list could submit affidavits to prove that they did not receive a prior eviction notice. Four of the residents who claim that they are members of the Schubart Park and Kruger Park Residents Committee were provisionally interdicted from instigating violence or threatening other residents on the Premises.
24 July 2008
Pretoria News: most, if not all of the fire fighting equipment in the Kruger Park flats was not working. The person within the Housing Council Tshwane (HCT) who is responsible for the maintenance of Kruger Park could not be identified. Council announces the appointment of University of South Africa professor David Mosoma to head an
investigation into what lead to the Kruger Park tragedy. 25 July 2008
Pretoria News: Residents of Schubart and Kruger Park have received an interim court interdict to stop the metro from evicting them.
7 August 2008
Pretoria News: The charges of murder, attempted murder and arson are withdrawn from the 3 men accused of starting the fire at Kruger Park.
1 October 2008 20 December 2008 29 March 2009
Pretoria News: Ramokogopa confirms that the report was completed and will be handed to her soon. Pretoria News: The council seals off Kruger Park. A week earlier residents were allowed to fetch the last of their belongings. Workers begin clearing out the building and preparing it for renovation. Pretoria News: Ramokogopa announces that the mosoma report has been handed to her.
12 June 2009
Pretoria News: Council advertises tender for professional service providers for the refurbishment of Kruger Park
1 March 2010
The Pretoria News: the MOSOMA committee report on the Kruger Park fire (which the Tshwan City Council has been reluctant to release – it was handed to them in January 2009) has revealed a series of communication, co-ordination and evaluation failures by the authorities carrying out evictions at the neighbouring Schubart Park flats. The committee found that it was reasonable to anticipate the level of resistance and that despite the existence of a Rescue Management Team there was no effective, comprehensive joint planning and coordination amoung its role players.
18 November 2011
The former residents of Schubart and Kruger Park embark on a peaceful march through the city from their previouds homes to the Union Buildings. Residents complain that no alternative housing has been provided for them and many are living on the street. Their demands include alternative housing and the resignation of Major Ramokgopa.
26 April 2012
IOL Property Article: A recent inspection by city officials recently revealed that the building had nothing left but the structure. The municipality failed to respond to queries on the state of Kruger Park or the absense of security [yesterday]. Requests for an outline of the plans for the building went unanswered. DAcouncillpr for the ward in which Kruger Park falls blamed the municipality’s lack of administration and said that the R15 million set aside for the refurbishment of Kruger Park cannot be accounted for at the moment; adding that the municipality did not discuss their plans for the building with them.
9 July 2012
Pretoria News: Kruger Park has now been empty for 4 years. Criminals are stripping the building of valuable materials in broad daylight. Recently a man had died while stealing aluminium frames from one of the lower floors and a scrap metal dealer was arrested after he was found in possession of steel door and window frames believed to be from the housing developments.
19 July 2012
Pretoria News: A Tshwane Metro police officer states that the condition of the building is terrible and pose a danger to him and others who have to enter the building to search for thieves. He stated that scap metal thieves had “taken over” Kruger Park and to a lesser extent Schubart Park. Executive major Kgosientso Ramokgopa stated that Kruger Park would be demolished to make way for a new development as part of the proposed West Capital project.
Schubart Park Timeline 21 August 1969
Seven street blocks between west Steenovenspruit and Schubart Street are announced as redevelopment precinct to make provision for the Schubart Park development. All current housing on those blocks (some 2060 individuals) are due for eviction.
1970s
Schubart Park is developed by the nationalist government (former Department of Community Development) for white, middle-income government employees as part of an urban renewal project. Despite negative notions of this housing type, residents’ perceptions initially appeared positive. South African Human Research Sciences Council conduct research on residential satisfaction with highdensity housing. It was found 80% of people were generally satisfied with such housing.
10 January 1975
Pretoria News: Schubart Park is originally known as the Goedehoop complex and construction is in progress. It is being developed by the Department of Community Development and should house about 10 000 people from middle to upper income groups. Apart from the 800 bachelor, one, two and three bedroom flats the following amenities will also be provided: sheltered parking; shops and businesses to serve the people; small parks and recreational areas, a chreche/nursery school, community halls, swimming pools and indoor sports facilities. The complex has come under fire in the past from a number of city councilors, sociologists, architects and property men. Fears include increased traffic congestion; too little recreation space being provided and that it will cause the social ills which often accompany high density housing schemes.
1976
Year of Completion and the first apartments are allocated.
November 1977
Building officially opened to residents by the Minister of Community Development. Strict allocation policy enforced which set minimum income levels for apartment sizes and was enforced by officials from 24-hour control room. Regular inspections of apartments were also conducted.
27 January 1994
Pretoria News: the Department of Housing and Works: House Assembly plan to sell 1232 (813 and 319 respectively) flats in Schubart Park and KrugerPark under sectional title to the present tenants; but the offer will be extended to outside interests if the tenants fail to buy. The sell of the flats will begin in February. Tenants who could not afford to buy would not be forced to vacate their flats. When tenants first heard about the deal they were initially panicky and some have already moved. Little has been heard from them since.
1994
Gauteng Housing Department took over administration of Schubart Park. Racial and income integration became policy. Policy was altered to awarding of housing on a needs basis in order to achieve income integration. Apartments were allocated to middle-income black tenants as well as low-income white tenants i.e. singleparent families headed by white women.
1996
Implementation of the neo-liberal GEAR policy saw another shift in policy. Emphasis was placed on private sector development, privatization of state-owned assets and cuts in government spending. This led to poor administration and social problems, such as an increase in national crime levels which soon impacted on residential quality. Class conflict between low- and middle-income groups occurred regularly. Isolated incidents of racial conflict were also reported. Vandalism and graffiti increased.
1999
Schubart Park became legal property of the city council who quickly handed it over to a private company (Housing Company Tshwane).
14 July 2008
Pretoria News: Residents show signs of resistance when Ramokgopa explains that they will have to move out for renovations to take place
16 July 2008
Pretoria News: About 500 residents march to Munitoria calling for an investigation into the mismanagement of the two buildings
22 July 2008
Pretoria News: The Red Ants protected by the Tshwane Metro Police, execute the council’s eviction order on defaulting tenants at Schubart Park. A fire was started at the neighboring Kruger Park and five people are killed. Three men are arrested for starting the fire.
23 July 2008
Pretoria News: Major Ramokgopa blames criminal elements for the fire while the Tshwane fire service reveals the lack of sufficient fire safety measures at the dilapidated building.
25 July 2008
Pretoria News: Court finds the evictions that sparked the incident are no longer urgent. Council delays its eviction plans.
9 September 2008
Pretoria News: Schubart Park is left without water. This is the start of a series of episodes where residents are left for days, sometimes weeks, without water or electricity.
10 September 2008
Pretoria News: A fire on the second floor of the Schubart Park flat sparked rumors among residents that the council was plotting to smoke them out, “like they did at Kruger Park”.
5 October 2008
Pretoria News: Schubart Park residents threaten to revolt if the council goes ahead with its refurbishment plans without provoking alternative accommodation. Days earlier MMC for housing Absalom Ditshoke said residents would be given three months notice during which they would not be charged rent.
29 October 2008
Pretoria News: Aubrey Ramotlhale is elected chairman of the Schubart and Kruger Park residents’ committee for a second term. Council does not recognize the legitimacy of the committee nor Ramothale as the elected representative.
24 November 2008
Pretoria News: At a public meeting Ditshoke announces May 31 as the deadline for residents to vacate Schubart Park. Metro police escort Ditshoke from the meeting.
25 December 2008
Pretoria News: Violent clashes with police mar Christmas Day at Schubart Park. Residents have been without electricity for several days because, according to council, lightning struck a sub station. Police arrest 34 people for alleged public violence.
29 December 2008
Pretoria News: State drops charges against 34 people arrested on Christmas Day
4 February 2009
Pretoria News: Council appoints new Housing Company Tshwane board of directors
1 May 2009
Pretoria News: A month before the deadline, Schubart Park residents vow to fight the council’s eviction plans.
17 May 2009
Pretoria News: A fire destroys a 10th storey flat leaving a mother of six children homeless. On the same day a boy falls to his death down a ventilation duct while playing with friends on the roof.
1 June 2009
Pretoria News: The eviction deadline passes with no comment from the council. Resident vow again to fight any eviction plans.
2 June 2009
Pretoria News: Housing Council Tshwane (HCT) official conduct an audit of flats to prepare for legal action.
24 June 2009
Pretoria News: A man falls from the 14th floor while fleeing from a group of men alleged to be a task team established by the residents’ committee to clean up the flats. Police arrest one man.
2009
Author conducts a survey of 204 apartments across Blocks A, B, C & D in order to compile a Perceived Residential Quality Index (PRQI). The results from 254 completed questionnaires revealed the following socio-demographic information: • Race: White = 66.1%, • Gender: Female = 61.6%, • Age group: 21-35 = 48.5%, • Language: Afrikaans speaking = 73.2%, • Other family members: Children under 16yo = 61.3% • Unemployment = 23.7% (21.5% Black, 25% White). The PRQI further revealed that residents had an overall negative perception towards the building complex. Public spaces (especially the public pedestrian entrance), in light of the increased crime rates, were “too public”:
• Lack of privacy, • Lack of control, and • Lack of ownership. The PRQI revealed the following ‘negative’ adjectives about Schubart Park: • Old-fashioned, • Unstylish, • Simple, • Ordinary, • Plain. The PRQI revealed the following ‘positive’ adjectives about Schubart Park: • Convenient, • Appealing, • Efficient, • Functional, • Impressive, • Well-planned, • Orderly, • Organised, • Well-balance. The survey found that the majority of negative sentiments came from residents who had been living at Schubart Park since before integration. These residents were of the white majority, middle-income group living in larger apartments with one or two occupants and no children. An overall positive sentiment towards the housing type was found amongst residents with special needs including the elderly, single parents, and low-income residents with no private transport, who found the centralised amenities such as the community hall. In fact, 90.9% of residents made use of amenities inside the complex. Social aspects of living in Schubart Park, namely poor income integration by policy, were found to be the overriding source of negative sentiments amongst residents. “It’s simply a situation of too many types of people being thrown together”. 26 January 2010
Community safety in collaboration with South African Police and other various departments and division within CoT carried out a crime prevention operation within the Schubart Park Complex.
14 May 2010
Operational Visit: Report on Schubart Park Complex Block “D” done by the Fire Brigade Services. The following problems were identified: • All fixed fire fighting equipment has been removed including the piping system in the shafts from ground floor to the tanks on the roof. • There is a limited amount of metal left in the structure which is on the façade of the building. Vagrants have begun to remove this. • The ventilation shafts had a steel casing that was enclosed by brick. The steel have been removed. Theses holes are approximately 2sqm and have been made on at least 10 floors. • Brick dividing walls have been broken down and the rubble is lying in heaps. These point loads may cause problems. • The lift motors, lifting mechanisms and steel cables have been stolen and the empty lifts are stuck on the 20th floor. All lift doors have been removed, thus leaving the shafts open on all floors. • The balustrades from the emergency staircases have been stolen. • The stairs have been damaged when the lift motor and mechanism were carried down the stairs. • Almost all steel and aluminum doors have been removed. • The lack of water in the building means that illegal tenants use plastic bags to dispose of their excretions using plastic bags and throwing them out of the window to the ground floor. • The tenants prepare food by making fires on the floor.
1 April 2011
Pretoria News: the new security measures at Schubart Park are expected to cost the Tshwane Metro Council R9 million.
21 April 2011
Pretoria News: an articles call for the council to act on Schubart Park and remove the criminal element within the building as well as illegal tenants and deal with the state of the building.
15 July 2011
Pretoria News: the Tshwane Metro’s housing department announced that it would take control of Schubart Park and begin refurbishments. People with legitimate claims to flats will be allowed to stay while block D is refurbished. These people will then be moved into this block while the rest of the complex is being refurbished.
19 August 2011
A fire broke out at Schubart park believed to be caused by an individual attempting to burn refuse.
22 September 2011
Pretoria News: The process of relocation 700 families from Schubart Park to the hostels in Saulsville and Atteridgeville after a high court judge ruled for residents to move out of the condemned buildings for their own safety and security.
29 September 2011
Pretoria News: PEN (a city NGO) arranged food and shelter for a large group of women and children from Schubart Park who had nowhere to go after the high court ruling.
4 May 2012
Record Central: the decision by the Tshwane Metro Council to implode Schubart Park has been put on hold pending an application to the Constitutional Court by the tenants to return to their homes. The Lawyers for Human Rights’ appointed engineer has stated that the buildings are structurally safe. This opinion vastly differs from the council’s experts. Of the 700 tenants evicted only 180 of them were given alternative accommodation.
11 October 2012
The Constitutional Court has ruled that the residents of Schubart Park were wrongfully evicted and should be allowed to re-occupy it. Mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa stated that the ruling does not mean that the residents can move back immediately as the building must first be made ready for occupation.
13 December 2012
The New Age: the first round of registration for Schubart Park residents wanting to move back has been completed. A second round will begin shortly.
24 June 2013
Pretoria News: the “quick fix” to restore basic services is estimated at R700 million and is not a viable option according to the Tshwane Metro Council. This quick fix of structural renovations and a facelift of the building is not viable as safety is the first priority. The council is promising residents short to mid-term accommodation until plans for the building can be made.
18 July 2013
Council spokesman Blessing Manale said residents would enter into lease agreements between the city and the agents of buildings that have been secured for alternative accommodation. The buildings include Ajo in Nana Sita street, Pretoria Central and Clarina in Akasia. It was agreed that residents, identified as former inhabitants, will be responsible for payment of overhead levies of R492 as well as water and electricity bills based on consumption, while the municipality will be liable for the payment of rent. Overhead levies include maintenance and security. A total of 847 households were registered (The process included the filling in of a questionnaire): • Alternative accommodation has been provided for 193, • 264 households were identified to receive alternative accommodation soon, • 375 households could not be verified as residents and would be vetted. City manager Jason Ngobeni stated in documents that the municipality had resolved to demolish the Schubart Park block of flats. The new development would accommodate more people than the existing blocks did. Demolition period = 6 months, Construction period = 48 months. A “quick fix” to restore basic services estimated at R700 million is not a viable option as the safety of residents is the municipality’s first priority.
13 August 2013
ENCA: the City of Tshwane’s West Capital Development Project proposes the redevelopment of Schubart Park.
13 December 2012
The New Age: the first round of registration for Schubart Park residents wanting to move back has been completed. A second round will begin shortly.
24 June 2013
Pretoria News: the “quick fix” to restore basic services is estimated at R700 million and is not a viable option according to the Tshwane Metro Council. This quick fix of structural renovations and a facelift of the building is not viable as safety is the first priority. The council is promising residents short to mid-term accommodation until plans for the building can be made.
18 July 2013
Council spokesman Blessing Manale said residents would enter into lease agreements between the city and the agents of buildings that have been secured for alternative accommodation. The buildings include Ajo in Nana Sita street, Pretoria Central and Clarina in Akasia. It was agreed that residents, identified as former inhabitants, will be responsible for payment of overhead levies of R492 as well as water and electricity bills based on consumption, while the municipality will be liable for the payment of rent. Overhead levies include maintenance and security. A total of 847 households were registered (The process included the filling in of a questionnaire): • Alternative accommodation has been provided for 193, • 264 households were identified to receive alternative accommodation soon, • 375 households could not be verified as residents and would be vetted. City manager Jason Ngobeni stated in documents that the municipality had resolved to demolish the Schubart Park block of flats. The new development would accommodate more people than the existing blocks did. Demolition period = 6 months, Construction period = 48 months. A “quick fix” to restore basic services estimated at R700 million is not a viable option as the safety of residents is the municipality’s first priority.
13 August 2013
ENCA: the City of Tshwane’s West Capital Development Project proposes the redevelopment of Schubart Park.
13 December 2013
City Press: A man fell to his death during the continued plundering of Schubart Park
Tessa Dodds David Hough Armand Meyer Ilze Wessels