14/07/2013 Ajo building in Skinners street will serve as alternative accomodation for the Schubart park residents. 14/07/2013 Ajo building in Skinners street will serve as alternative accomodation for the Schubart park residents.
Pretoria - Tshwane Metro Council and former residents of Schubart Park have agreed on alternative accommodation to be provided to the residents following a Constitutional Court order last year.
It has been agreed that residents, identified as former inhabitants, will be responsible for payment of overhead levies of R492 as well as water and electricity bills based on consumption, while the municipality will be liable for the payment of rent. Overhead levies include maintenance and security.
Council spokesman Blessing Manale said residents would enter into lease agreements between the city and the agents of buildings that have been secured for alternative accommodation.
The buildings include Ajo in Pretoria Central and Clarina in Akasia.
The decision comes after the Concourt ordered last October that basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation be restored at the building and the residents move back as soon as possible.
An estimated 3 000 residents were evicted in September 2011 following service delivery protests that turned violent.
Residents were then barred by the municipality from returning.
They launched an urgent application in the Pretoria High Court, but the building was ruled unsafe and unfit for human habitation.
Residents then turned to Lawyers for Human Rights for help.
Since then, thieves have stripped the building of copper cables and infrastructure for basic needs.
The building has been closed off and is guarded around the clock.
Following the court order, Reverend Frank Chikane was appointed as a mediator to manage and resolve problems during negotiations.
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) said they entered into an agreement with the city not to comment as all communications would go via the municipality.
Manale said following intensive negotiations between the municipality and the residents, an open registration process was conducted to establish the identity of residents who were living in the building at the time of eviction.
Manale said a total of 847 households were registered.
Of the 847, alternative accommodation has been provided for 193.
A further 264 households were identified to receive alternative accommodation soon.
Manale said 375 households could not be verified as residents and would be vetted.
The process included the filling in of a questionnaire.
City manager Jason Ngobeni stated in documents that the municipality had resolved to demolish the Schubart Park block of flats.
The new development would accommodate more people than the existing blocks did.
It is estimated that the proposed demolition will take about six months and the construction process about 48 months.
A “quick fix” to restore basic services - estimated at R700 million - at the decaying Schubart Park block of flats is not a viable option as the safety of residents is the municipality’s first priority.
Pretoria News
