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Touchdown at Ysterplaat A Dakota aircraft prepares for a safe landing at the Ysterplaat Air Force Base with Century City in the background. The South African Air Force’s 35th Squadron celebrated 80 years of Dakota Excellence on 5 December 2015. The picture was captured by local Milnerton photographer Colin Brown on Monday 19 March. PHOTO: COLIN BROWN
DUNOON PROTESTS: A RESPONSE TO CITY’S ACTION AGAINST ILLEGAL LAND INVASIONS
Plague of protests RICHARD ROBERTS @richardjohn_rj
V
iolent protest action has flared up sporadically over the past two weeks in Dunoon, with the most recent one leading once again to major routes being closed off to traffic. The last reported protest action, apparently by illegal land occupiers, occurred on Tuesday 20 March. At the time the City of Cape Town’s traffic spokesperson, Maxine Bezuidenhout, told TygerBurger that Potsdam Road had been closed between Malibongwe Road and Killarney Avenue due to rubble and stone throwing in the area. Motorists were advised to avoid the area. The
N7 was also closed but reopened later. A week and a half before, on Thursday 8 March, similar violent protests led to the same major arteries being closed (“Violent protests close roads” 14/3). This was largely due to stoning, as well as tyres and refuse being set alight. Captain Nopaya Madyibi, Milnerton police spokesperson, confirmed this stating that the police are investigating a number of cases relating to civil unrest in Dunoon. “However, no arrests were made nor were any damage done to the City’s infrastructure,” Madyibi says. Contradicting this, Brett Herron, Mayco member for transport and urban development, confirmed that a MyCiTi bus and a bus
station were damaged during the Dunoon protest action. He says this will cost in excess of R2m to repair. TygerBurger approached the City last week in an effort to obtain clarity about the reasons for the ongoing protests. In response, Xanthea Limberg, Mayco member for informal settlements, water and waste services and energy, said the protests are as a result of the City’s actions taken against the illegal occupation of land in Dunoon. “We have great empathy for those in search of accommodation but land invasions cannot be tolerated. As a City, we are active in our informal settlements day and night and we know the hardships that many of our people are facing.
“Unplanned, uncoordinated formation of informal settlements often results in conditions where basic services such as water and sanitation cannot be provided at the targeted level, and access for emergency vehicles is prevented. “Furthermore many invaded erven are actually reserved for future housing projects, industrial development and future roadways that will be developed over time. These are projects that can no longer be undertaken if the land is occupied. When land is illegally invaded, we all lose,” Limberg says. The City, Limberg adds, will therefore continue to act within its mandate to prevent illegal land invasions. V To page 3.