A growing crisis in urban housing

THE establishment of new informal settlements all over the country is continuing unabated, even after the surge during the Covid-19, with the one along the N1 highway towards the Cape Town CBD growing every day.

- TRACY-LYNN RUITERS

The City of Cape Town said they cannot act against these illegal occupiers because the land belongs to Transnet, while Transnet asked for more time to respond to questions on the ever growing sprawling settlement.

Cape Town is now home to 683 informal settlements, a number that has surged dramatically since the Covid-19 pandemic. This growth has been fuelled by job losses, mass evictions, and widespread unlawful occupations - many of which occurred while emergency regulations limited law enforcement intervention.

Mayco member for human settlements, Carl Pophaim said since Covid-19, 186 new informal settlements sprang up.

"Many were sparked by genuine need, but some were the result of political incitement and organised syndicates."

These newly established settlements now account for over 60% of the highest-risk informal areas in the metro. Many are located in unsuitable and dangerous areas, such as beneath power lines, in wetlands, on flood plains, and even on biodiversity-protected land.

Currently, Cape Town has 278044 informal structures spread across 849 areas, underscoring the sheer scale of the crisis. And the city is not alone.

The Department of Human Settlements data, South Africa has more than 4000 informal settlements, with the largest concentrations in Cape Town, Johannesburg, and eThekwini.