Schubart Park row simmers

The battle between the city of Tshwane and the evicted residents of the Schubart Park flats complex is far from over.

The committee representing the residents has threatened to initiate another legal challenge against the council.

They accused the council of using delaying tactics instead of honouring the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the council provide residents with alternative accommodation.

Residents’ committee coordinator Mashao Chauke told The New Age the council and the committee were discussing the way forward but decisions were not being implemented. “We agreed that residents be accommodated in Clarina but the council has not implemented that decision.

“All they are trying to do is demolish the building to build cheaper flats, which would be private.”

Chauke said there were more than 3000 evicted families but only a handful were given alternate accommodation. Residents had earlier approached the court to have their eviction declared unlawful.

The council argued that the complex, which had 630 flats and accommodated thousands of people, was a health hazard and not suitable for habitation.

The Constitutional Court last year ruled the council had acted unlawfully when it evicted the residents without obtaining a court order or giving them prior notification.

The court ordered the city to start with an identification process of those who were living in the flats prior to the evictions. City of Tshwane spokesperson, Blessing Manale, said the city continued to engage with Schubart Park residents as directed by the Constitutional Court and had appointed a facilitator.

“The city regrets the delay in the resettlement and the full implementation of the Constitutional Court order has genuinely affected a fair number of previous short park residents who have not found alternative accommodation with ease,” he said.

Manale said a quick fix structural renovations and face lift of the building at current estimates of R700m with no costs shared by the Schubart park residents was not equitable or fair to rest of the city’s ratepayers.