SINGABALAPHA'S EVICTION FIGHT

Residents open to relocation but demand dignified living conditions

- GENEVIEVE SERRA

THE community of the Singabalapha informal settlement, which has made Observatory Main Road their home for the past eight years, has been surviving without access to water, electricity, and ablution facilities.

They have expressed their willingness to relocate to a Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) after receiving an eviction notice, provided that it meets basic human rights requirements.

This week, residents told the Cape Argus that they are struggling to secure a resource for water. They are in a crisis and are desperate to move. The informal settlement is home to 127 families who had previously occupied the Arcadia House old-age home, which is owned by the Cape Peninsula Organisation for the Aged, before being evicted. Following this eviction, the group made the main road in Observatory their home and obtained an interdict to prevent the City from evicting them.

The City confirmed that it has since successfully pursued an eviction process, which it applied for in 2023, and is keen to place residents in Gugulethu at a TRA.