City seeks eviction order for Tent City and Wingfield foreign nationals

The City of Cape Town and national government departments are jointly seeking a High Court eviction order for foreign nationals occupying sites in Ysterplaat and Bellville, while housing rights activists Ndifuna Ukwazi criticizes the application, arguing for housing as a human right.

The City said they would launch the application for an eviction of the remainder of foreign nationals who were unlawfully occupying sites at Wingfield in Voortrekker Road, and Paint City in Belville.

“While hundreds of foreign nationals have accepted support to relocate from these sites over several years, the remaining unlawful occupants have refused all offers of assistance by the state and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR),” the City said.

The foreign nationals were initially relocated to the two sites during the Covid-19 Level 5 lockdown emergency regulations.

This was after the High Court granted their eviction from Green Market Square and the Central Methodist Church in the Cape Town CBD.

“At the time, the foreign nationals cited fears of xenophobia and demanded relocation to Europe or Canada, which is not lawfully possible,” the City said. 

They said the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) completed various repatriation and deportation processes, and with the assistance of the City and NPO’s, hundreds of foreign nationals were also reintegrated back into their local communities of origin.

“DHA and UNHCR processes have long concluded at both sites, with an eviction now being sought for the remaining unlawful occupants who have refused all offers of support,” the City said.

Around 160 occupants remain at the Wingfield site, under the custodianship of the national Public Works Department, and about 200 remain at the City-owned Paint City site in Bellville. 

The DHA also continues to bear expenses for tented accommodation and related matters at the sites.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis said: “This joint application aims to restore these sites to their original public use and to bring an end to the undignified conditions for the sake of the unlawful occupants and the general public, as these sites have generated a great deal with public complaints, including traffic, crime and waste challenges.”

Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber, said extensive support was offered by the state over time to assist the foreign nationals.

Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson said the joint application is the result of a signed collaboration agreement between the different spheres of government.

Housing rights organisation and law centre, Ndifuna Ukwazi  said they challenged the process.

Yusrah Bardien, communications and engagements officer at Ndifuna Ukwazi, said: “While authorities remain preoccupied with property boundaries and ownership disputes, we demand a fundamental shift towards recognising housing as a basic human right that must be guaranteed to all, irrespective of immigration status or economic means."

Cape Argus