Cape Town - Social Housing Institution Sohco has once again evicted dozens of families from its Steenberg 700-unit Steen Villa housing complex.
This despite consistent efforts by some of the residents to fight against the evictions, which were applied for by the managing property group.
Sohco group chief executive Heather Maxwell said: “Sohco is a private non-profit company which develops and manages affordable rental accommodation. On Wednesday, the sheriff supported by the SAPS and the City’s law enforcement completed 21 evictions at Steen Villa.
“This was based on high court eviction orders granted in December 2020 under the State of Disaster Regulations, which take these regulations into account. The initial court application for these evictions was made in mid-2019, and the households affected by the evictions were in significant arrears already at that point.
“Most of the occupants evicted this week were in a position to pay their rent throughout this period, but chose not to,” said Maxwell.
Despite Sohco’s adamant position on the resident’s ability to settle their rental debts or ability to pay their monthly instalment, Steen Villa resident and social activist Phumza Sidingama said the majority of the evicted households were struggling financially, and even more so due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
“I was one of the people evicted from my home on Wednesday. I wasn’t even at home or in the province when this happened. I had accompanied my child to the Eastern Cape when I was called and informed that my furniture was being taken outside.
“I immediately called my partner and asked him to go and check, because who knows what would have happened otherwise.
“I am so lost right now because as an unemployed mother I have nowhere to turn or go. We have tried to get assistance from the MEC of Human Settlements to no avail. We even tried the Human Rights Commission, but they don’t seem to see the urgency,” Sidingama said.
The Western Cape Department of Human Settlements, however, maintains that it was never approached by the residents or any social activists on their behalf asking for assistance in mediating with Sohco.
Department spokesperson Muneera Allie said: “The department is not in a position to offer any form of assistance to the families being evicted. The evictions were done in terms of a high court eviction order.
“The province is unable to provide any immediate assistance. Affected families can approach their nearest municipal housing office to assess whether they qualify for any form of government housing assistance.”