JOHANNESBURG Close to 400 foreign immigrants, some of them from Zimbabwe, are facing eviction from a temporary settlement in Cape Town where they have lived since fleeing their homes during last years xenophobic attacks.
Cape Town housing director Hans Smit last week asked the Cape High Court to authorise removal of the immigrants from Bluewaters camp on the Cape Flats.
Smit claimed the immigrants had refused to leave the camp even after being given financial assistance by international relief agencies for them to resettle elsewhere.
The council official alleged that some of the immigrants had last year cheated relief agencies into giving them funds to assist in their relocation or re-integration into the communities they were evicted from, adding that the immigrants were no longer welcome at Bluewaters.
Acting Judge Patrick Maqubela did not grant the order sought by the city council and instead postponed the matter to June 9 to give time to the Legal Resources Centre (LRC), which is representing some of the refugees, to compile a list of its clients.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees last year gave the foreign immigrants R1 500 for individuals and R3 000 for families of more than one person to help them move out of the camp.
“Shortly after the implementation of the scheme it was discovered that it was being abused by some DFNs (Displaced Foreign Nationals) who, by altering their names, fraudulently procured the payment of allowances to them repeatedly,” Smit said in his affidavit.
“In addition, it was discovered that some DFNs were returning to live in the camps even after they had collected their relocation allowances,” the council official wrote.
There are 397 refugees, 163 of them children, staying at Bluewaters.
Smit said council served notice on the refugees in October last year that it wanted them off the property, that is meant to be used as a holiday camp for members of the public.
Meanwhile, South Africa s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has condemned the opposition-controlled council for wanting to evict the refugees, describing Smits court application as appalling.
President Jacob Zumas party urged the city council to seek help from the national government and civic society groups on how to deal with the refugees instead of simply throwing them out into the cold.
Post published in: Politics