Press Release: 10 August 2010.
Another Devastating Shack Fire in the Kennedy Road Settlement

If electricity, water and adequate housing were provided in the Kennedy Road shack settlement these recurring shack fires could have been prevented.

The Kennedy Road shack settlement burnt once again at about 10 pm on Sunday, 08 August 2010 – two hours before women’s day. As of today thousands of residents in Kennedy are homeless in this cold winter weather. If the municipality had given them houses or provided them with basic services, such as electricity, refuse collection, road access and water they would have been safe from fire. Fire is a serious threat to our lives. It is an undeniable fact that electricity is not needed by us but that our lives’ need electricity. In settlements that have electricity it is so unlikely to have fires of this nature as it is happening again and again in Kennedy.

When the state refuses to provide the poor with electricity and then violently disconnects us from electricity when we connect ourselves it is sentencing us to burn. These fires are not accidents. They are our sentence. No amount of regular lying that the cause of the fires is self organised electricity connections can disguise the fact that we burn because it has been decided to deny us electricity. This is the reason why Kennedy Road burns again and again. The poor in Durban have been abandoned to fire, left to burn, because we do not count in this city.

This is the time to practise what the officials and ministers preached when they came to the Kennedy Road settlement during the last shack fire that claimed four lives.

Women in Kennedy Road spent Women’s Day rebuilding their shacks while the rest of the women were celebrating the women’s day. This shows, very clearly, the truth of the position of the poor in South Africa. Rich women talk about how far women have come on TV while poor women try and build a new shack from other people’s rubbish and the burnt and reburnt remains of an old shack.

How long will the people continue to die or to have their belonging burned down to ashes, before the authorities respond to our suffering? Abahlali condemns the continued brutality of shack fires. Abahlali calls upon Mhlonishwa Willies Mchunu, the Minister of Community Safety & Liaison Office in KZN, to investigate the causes of the shack fire that is believed by some to have been caused by the conduct of the leadership that was imposed by him upon the community of Kennedy Road settlement in September 2009. We call upon Nigel Gumede, who is the chairperson of the Housing Portfolio Committee in the eThekwini Municipality, to also keep the promise that he made, and that is on record, to house the community of the Kennedy Road settlement by February 2010.

We call upon the municipality to extend its support to the victims of this fire. This fire is caused by their neglect of the poor and they must take full responsibility for the victims. They chose to build a stadium instead of building us houses or providing us with electricity. A long as the authorities such as Nigel Gumede continue to lie in the manner that they do people will continue to suffer and the city will continue to waste rate payer’s money to rebuild shacks or temporary homes instead of permanent ones.

For more information and comment please contact:

Mnikelo Ndabankulu: 079 745 0653
Nozuko Hulushe: 082 259 5492
Bandile Mdlalose: 074 7308120

‘Now We Demand They Do It For the Poor’
By Davison Mudzingwa

Delft resident Trinian Davids prepares to represent “South Korea” on the final day of the Poor People’s World Cup. Credit: Davison Mudzingwa/IPS

CAPE TOWN, Aug 10, 2010 (IPS) – Weak floodlights barely held back gathering darkness as Somalia met Serbia in the finals of the Poor People’s World Cup. A small band of supporters were on hand to see and African side lift the cup in Cape Town’s Vygieskraal Stadium.

The Poor People’s World Cup drew 38 teams, predominantly from poor black and coloured communities far from the city’s glittering Green Point Stadium.

Two Worlds, Two Cups

Planners initially proposed Athlone, on the Cape Flats, as the site for Cape Town’s official World Cup venue, reasoning that the investment in infrastructure could breathe fresh life into this working class neighbourhood. The rows of council housing were too prosaic a backdrop for FIFA’s vision, and a picture-perfect location between mountain and sea was chosen instead.

It was left to the Poor People’s World Cup to host a tournament there, on the patchy grass of Avondale Athletics’ home ground. The teams, each adopting the name of a different country, played for a trophy and 5,000 rand (a bit less than $700) in prize money.

The tournament was originally planned to run concurrently with FIFA’s, to highlight the contrast between the daily lives of the majority of South Africans and the opulence of the World Cup proper. It began in June, but, fittingly, a struggle to find sponsors meant the finals were delayed by a full month, to Aug. 9.

The delay does not seem to have killed the excitement for the 16 teams taking part on the final day. Sunshine and rain alternated all day, passing showers and gusts of wind making ball control and fluent passing a challenge.

“We are used to these harsh conditions. We live in poor areas without basic necessities and fight off challenges each day,” said Artwell Koerberg, manager of “Switzerland”, a select team from Westlake, south of Cape Town. 
The point of the competition, said Pamela Beukes, was to show how the World Cup was a missed opportunity to promote development to the benefit of South Africa’s poor.

“We looked at it from the perspective that the tournament would bring better houses for us,” she told IPS. “We thought they would develop our areas to give a good image to foreigners, but we were relocated to tin houses hiding us away from foreigners.”

Beukes is chairperson of the Anti-Eviction Campaign, which fights to defend the rights of the hundreds of thousands of Cape Town residents who lack adequate housing.

“See, now they built these white elephants [the stadia]. They should have used the same resources to build houses for the poorest of the poor.”

“But there is no use crying over spilt milk,” I interjected.

“Then the government must show the same discipline shown during World Cup preparation,” responded Beukes. “They have shown that they can achieve anything, we demand they do it now for the poor.”

‘This time for Africa’

Clinton Peterson hails from Delft, a township some 25 kilometres from Cape Town’s city centre, home to one of the largest government housing developments in the country.

“Clintyano”, as his team-mates call him, is the most vocal of the “South Korea” squad.

“I stay in Delft. I don’t even have a big house. if I turn, my head knocks against the wall, you see, because I don’t have a house. I live in a small hokkie.”

Hokkie is the Afrikaans term for a shack like the one Peterson shares with three other family members. “It’s not nice. Now we come here in Athlone, we see these houses… I feel sad.”

Peterson’s team-mate, striker Trinian Davids has just come out of rehab for drugs – a widespread problem for youths in his community.

“I’m physically fit now, I no longer take tik [crystal methamphetamine]. This is because of soccer,” says Davids, who dreams that football will be an escape route not only from drugs and alcohol but also from poverty.

“Football is my life, if I go [into the professional leagues], my friend, I’ll be a great star and I’ll give to the people. People don’t have money, they don’t have houses, and if I have money I’ll develop [the area], my friend.”

No official recognition

Davids’s team-mates call him “Kaka”; he fancied the World Cup as an opportunity to be spotted by football agents who could link him to professional teams. His hopes grew even more when he heard of the Poor People’s tournament.

But no high-ranking officials from FIFA or the government deigned to visit the parallel tournament, despite invitations from organisers.

“We invited the mayor, he didn’t come,” said Beukes. “They are showing disregard for the poor. All that we wanted is for them to come and support it and especially to come and see the talent on the ground.”

Twenty-eight year old Bantu Dlincane, is among the handful of supporters encouraging his team to play on.

“What I want is just employment. For now I just think we voted for nothing. Our leaders are not working,” he said. Dlincane lives in a squatter camp ironically called Sweet Home Farm.

The self-trained electrician says his life didn’t change due to the FIFA World Cup. “I’m still waiting to see if the legacy the government was talking about is going provide me with a job.”

The South African government injected over $4 billion dollars to the World Cup preparation. Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said the investment will see a one percent rise in GDP this year.

For Dlincane, any long term benefits of the infrastructure built for the World Cup means nothing. “I don’t have a job my brother.”

In light of the fresh threats and actual violence towards black African migrants immediately following FIFA’s World Cup – with Somali shopkeepers in particular targeted – it’s a bittersweet irony that when the final whistle blows, the team playing in the colours of Somalia’s Ocean Stars celebrates victory.

The Guardian (UK)

Huffington Post (USA)

Blacklooks (Blog)

People’s World / Mundo Popular (USA)

Anarkismo (English) / (Italian)

CNN (USA)

The Zimbabwean (UK)

Kick It Out (UK)

Free Speech Radio Network (USA)

Press Tv

And nationally:

The Sowetan

Poor’s ‘World Cup’ keeps drugs at bay
21 June 2010
Francis Hweshe

ANOTHER world tournament kicked off in Western Cape last week.

Organised by the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, the 36-team
tournament was launched to run parallel with the Fifa World Cup and as
a platform to highlight the plight of the province’s poor.

The lobby group has organised the Poor People’s World Cup, which has
seen 36 teams from poor communities across the city get into action.

The AEC has slammed the government for “wasting R500billion building
stadiums instead of better housing for the poor”.

They have snubbed the World Cup, saying would only benefit Fifa and
its sponsors and not the local communities.

The competing teams have been named after countries such as Haiti,
Somalia, Palestine, Brazil, England, Zimbabwe and Argentina.

The tournament, which will see the winning team walk away with R5000,
kicked off last week in Athlone.

At the weekend the Delft community was abuzz with action as the teams
met again for the competition that is expected to wind up in the next
two weeks.

Gary Hatzenberg, one of the organisers, said: “It’s the Poor People’s
World Cup. We don’t have resources. We don’t have Coca-Cola to sponsor
us. We don’t have enough balls. We are used to it (poverty).

“The World Cup is not benefiting us. The R500billion used for the
stadiums should have been used for better housing.

“We replaced world champions Italy with Palestine to highlight the
struggles of other countries.”

He urged teams at the Fifa tournament to visit their games and inspire
the youth from troubled communities.

“Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi should come and talk to the children,” he said.

Mevin Lawrence, the Cameroon team coach, said the poor were
“scratching the ground to earn a living”.

He said in Athlone, where his team came from, drugs and crime were
“the biggest problems”.

“The only blessing is that the youngsters are here for a positive
thing. It’s a pleasure to work with young people who want to see
change,” Lawrence said.

Michael Jacobs, who coaches South Korea, said his players did not have
boots or socks but hoped to beat Chile.

He said most players were jobless and could not afford a decent meal.

“Some guys don’t have food so we have to share … others have lost
parents,” he said.

Yasser Swarz of from Hanover Park, who plays for team Greece, said
soccer kept him away from drugs and crime.

Another life has been claimed by the farm watch in eMasangweni at the farm owned by Mr. Channel of eNkwalini(Eshowe)

On the 23 July 2010 Mr. Patrick Mpanza was shot dead by the farm watch that is responsible for the farm of Mr. Channel. This incident happened while he was walking with his four kids, whom are all girls. According to the child that is the eye witness the farm watch told them to lie down on the ground, two of the four kids ran away while the other one was left with the father on the ground; however the father refused to lie down. By so doing the farm watch then shot him on the forehead.

The child that was left with the father asked the father if he was hurt, and the father replied by saying yes I am hurt. The child asked where you are hurt. That was the last words from the father, he couldn’t even reply to the child’s question. Later the child realized that the father had passed away.

Two of the three children were taken by the farm watches somewhere, away from the scene until the SAPS came and find them there. These two children who witnessed the shooting of their father were found by the SAPS with the farm watches. What is amazing is that the one of the two children who remained with their father while he was shot at so the farm watch that shot her dad is now injured at the back of his head. The farm watch claimed to the SAPS that he was injured by the deceased, which raised some questions of how can a person with a gun be able to be injured by a person who is already dead.

This is just an one of many cases where by either the farm owner or his farm watch will kill or even torture the farm dwellers and get away with it without being arrested or sentenced for their doings. Some of the cases that are similar to this incident where by the very same farm watched shot and killed two students from the very same Mpanza family in 2006. This case has been delayed from 2006 until today. This has led to the formation of the alliance of the social movements within KwaZulu Natal to intervene on this delayed case, such as Abahlali baseMjondolo, Rural Network, Regional SACP. The next court appearance for the first Mpanza whose teenagers were killed will be on the 30 July 2010 at Eshowe Court. All media are welcome.

We are sick and tired of the brutal killing by the farm watches as well as the farm owners to the community and get away with cruelty. We again asked the intervention of the Minister of Land affairs Ms Lydia Johnson and Minister of Safety and Security Willies Mchunu to find an immediate end to this killing of the innocent people on their own land. The feelings of the community members are that the farm owners have decided to declare the war against community using the farm watch. As the leaders we are very concern that this may lead to turmoil, whereby there will be a fight between the community and farm watch.

For more information please contact:

Mr. Mbhekiseni Mavuso on 072- 279-2634 (Rural Network S.A.)
Mr. Mduduzi Sibisi on 073-387-9265 (Rural Network, Chairperson of Emasangweni)
Ms. Zodwa Nsibande on 031-304 6420 (Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement)

Friday, 16 July 2010
Serving our Life Sentence in the Shacks

People all over South Africa have been asking the leaders of Abahlali baseMjondolo as to why the government continues to ignore the demands of the shack dwellers. They have been asking why after all the marches, statements, reports and meetings the Kennedy Road settlement continues to get burnt down through the endless shack fires. They have been referring in particular to the recent Kennedy Road shack fire on Sunday, 4 July 2010 that took four lives, leaving more than three thousand people displaced and homeless.

Without much more words to explain this continuous tragedy we have replied that in fact the shack dwellers of South Africa are serving a life sentence. Everybody knows that we are the people who do not count in this society. But the truth that must be faced up to is that we have been sentenced to permanent exclusion from this society.

Over the years it has been made clear that the cities are not for us, that the good schools are not for us and that even the most basic human needs like toilets, electricity, safety from fire and safety from crime are not to be met for us. When we ask for these things we are presented as being unreasonable, too demanding and even as a threat to society. If we were considered as people that did count, as an equal part of society, then it would be obvious that the real threat to our society is that we have to live in mud and fire without toilets, without electricity, without enough taps and without dignity.

Waiting for ‘delivery’ will not liberate us from our life sentence. Sometimes ‘delivery’ does not come. When ‘delivery’ does come it often makes things worse by forcing us into government shacks that are worse than the shacks that we have built ourselves and which are in human dumping grounds far outside of the cities.’Delivery’ can be a way of formalising our exclusion from society.

But we have not only been sentenced to permanent physical exclusion from society and its cities, schools, electricity, refuse removal and sewerage systems. Our life sentence has also removed us from the discussions that take place in society. Everyone knows about the repression that we have faced from the state and now, also, from the ruling party. Everyone knows about the years of arrests and beatings that we suffered at the hands of the police and then the attack on our movement in the Kennedy Road settlement.

We have always said that in the eyes of the state and the ruling party our real crime was that we organised and mobilised the poor outside of their control. We have thought for ourselves, discussed all the important issues for ourselves and taken decisions for ourselves on all the important issues that affect us. We have demanded that the state includes us in society and gives us what we need to have for a dignified and safe life. We have also done what we can to make our communities better places for human beings. We have run crèches, organised clean up campaigns, connected people to water and to electricity, tried to make our communities safe and worked very hard to unite people across all divisions. We have faced many challenges but we have always worked to ensure that in all of this work we treat one another with respect and dignity.

The self-organisation of the poor by the poor and for the poor has meant that all of those who were meant to do the thinking, the discussing and to take decisions on our behalf – for us but without us – no longer have a job. Our decision to build our own future may therefore not be an easy one to accept for those who can no longer continue to take decisions and to speak for us but without us. Some of the people who have refused to accept our demand that those who say that they are for the poor should struggle with and not on behalf of the poor are in the state. Some are in the party. Some are in that part of the left, often in the universities and NGOs, that sees itself as a more progressive elite than those in the party and the state and which aims to take their place in the name of our suffering and struggles.

We call this left a regressive left. For us any leftism outside of the state that, just like the ruling party, wants followers and not comrades and which is determined to ruin any politics that it cannot rule is deeply regressive. We have always and will always resist its attempts to buy our loyalty just as we have always and will always resist all attempts by the state and the ruling party to buy our loyalty. We will also resist all attempts to intimidate us into giving up our autonomy. We will always defend our comrades when they are attacked. Our movement will always be owned by its members. We negotiate on many issues. Where we have to make compromises to go forward we sometimes do so. But on this issue there will never be any negotiation.

We have done a lot for ourselves and by ourselves. But for a long time what we could not succeed in doing for ourselves was to secure good land and decent housing in our cities. We stopped the evictions and we were no longer going backwards but it was a real struggle to go forwards. But we kept pushing and made some small advances here and there. This really offended the authorities in the party. This became very clear and evident when the provincial government of KwaZulu-Natal passed the notorious Slums Act, meaning that the shack dwellers would never again have any place in our cities. Our successful challenge to the Slums Act in the Highest Court in the land was a great setback for the government’s plan to formalise our life sentence by eradicating our settlements and putting us in the human dumping grounds. The deal that we negotiated with the eThekwini Municipality to upgrade two settlements and to provide basic services to fourteen settlements was another setback to the eradication agenda of the politicians. The recent announcement by the eThekwini Municipality that they will accede to our demand to provide services including, for the first time since 2001 electricity, to settlements across the city is another victory of our struggle and another major setback to the eradication agenda. We are slowly but surely defeating the eradication agenda.

As South Africa was hosting the World Cup Abahlali warned that it will not benefit the poorest of the poor in our land. We warned that it would make the poor, poorer and more vulnerable. Leading up to the World Cup there were more evictions and pending court cases in different parts of the country. Poor street traders had their belongings confiscated as they had no permits to sell in restricted zones and the taxi industry suffered the impoundment of their taxis. Stopping the rush to celebrate the World Cup by raising all these questions and condemning these attacks on the poor as immoral and illegitimate has been a slap on the authorities’ faces. Although the fact is that all these huge soccer stadiums, hotels and other projects were built by the poor of the poorest they remained outside their benefit. The South African government has overspent its budget in building a ‘world class country’ and could not match and balance such expenditure with social needs such housing and the provision of the most basic services. The amount that has been spent for the World Cup could have built at least one millions homes for the poor. Although we acknowledge the efforts that have been put into this event we still feel that such effort could have been used to bring basic services and infrastructure to the poor. If that had been the case then the shack dwellers would not have been affected by these ongoing fires every time.

The truth about the attack on our movement has always been firm and not changing at any stage. We cannot make public comment on matters that are sub judice but our demand for an independent commission of inquiry that will bring the whole story into the light remains unchanged. The Kennedy 5, part of those who are already serving their life sentence in and out of the jails, have now been released from Westville prison. They had already been serving ten months of their punishment without any evidence of guilt being brought to the court and without the court saying anything about their illegal detention. The South African Constitution says there shall be no detention without trial and that a person cannot be detained for more than 24 hours without a proper bail hearing. The fact that, up until the release of the Kennedy 5, this trial was being conducted as a political trial outside of the rule of law even though it was taking place in a court of law tells us something very important about the position of the poor in post apartheid South Africa. Those who have handed a life sentence down to us always want to exclude us from fair and equal access to the courts and the rule of law. When they fail to achieve this through the commodification of the legal system they are willing to actively undermine the system from above.

The movement insists that the people shall govern; this is what the famous Freedom Charter says. Abahlali holds on to that. The strength and the autonomy of the movement compels us all to strive for a just world, a world that is free, a world that is fair and a world that looks after all its creations. We remain convinced that the land and the wealth of this world must be shared fairly and equally. We remain convinced that every person in this world has the same right to contribute to all discussions and decision making about their own future. For us all to succeed we have to be humble but firm in what we believe is right. We have to resist all our jailers, be they in the state, the party or the regressive left, and to take our place as equals in all the discussions.

We also know that the South African government still wants to look good in the eyes of the international communities and that they fear disgrace and shame. They want to show the world Soccer City but hide eTwatwa, Blikkiesdorp, Westville Prison, the red ants and the shack fires all around the country. We wish to thank all the international activists and organisations who have raised their concern against the repression that we have faced, including those that have organised protests against the South African diplomats in their respective countries.

We hope South Africa will become one of the world’s caring countries. We hope that one day our society will be an inspiration rather than a shock to you. As Abahlali we have committed ourselves to achieving this goal. But right now we are serving a life sentence and fighting all those who are trying to keep us imprisoned in our poverty, all those who demand that we know our place – our place in the cities and our place in the discussions. We have recognised our own humanity and the power of our struggle to force the full recognition of our humanity. Therefore we remain determined to continue to refuse to know our place.

Compiled by Zodwa Nsibande and S’bu Zikode
-Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA.

The Kennedy 12 Case Postponed Until 29 November – the Five Jailed Comrades to be Released Tomorrow

The political interference around this case continued in the lead up to the start of the trial today. The prisoners were not brought to court and the state witnesses were not summoned to appear in court making it impossible for the trial to begin.

Neither the Investigating Officer nor the prosecutor could explain why the prisoners were not brought to the court or why the state witnesses had not been summoned to appear in court.

The magistrate could not understand this and she insisted that everyone has the right to a fair and speedy trial and that these endless delays are not acceptable. She set down the trial for the 29th of November and said that the accused and the witnesses must be summoned to appear in court on that day and that the trial will definitely go ahead on that day. She also said that the five prisoners must be brought to court tomorrow and that they will be released on a bail of R1000 each. The political interference in this case will cost them one more night in Westville Prison but tomorrow they will be free.

This is the first time, since this matter started ten months ago, that a magistrate has acted fairly and in accordance with the law. We welcome this and the fact that the five members of the Kennedy 12 that have remained in prison for ten months without a trial, or any evidence being brought against them, will be released tomorrow.

Our advocated read out a letter to the court from the Investigating Officer which said that the state witnesses had said that they would only be prepared to give evidence if they were given houses. It is clear to us that the state is trying to delay this trial by undermining the court process because they have no evidence against the accused.

We note that only seven members of the ANC, led by the shacklord Zandile Mdletshe, attended the court proceedings today. Slowly but slowly the lies that the ANC have told are being revealed and the truth is remaining. People are no longer interested in being bussed into court by the ANC to attack our movement. They have become aware that they are being abused by the politicians.

There were 150 AbM members in the court and the media was there in full force.

Once again we extend our warm and deep thanks to all the hearts and minds that prayed and struggled with us in the lead up to today.

We are busy organising a welcome ceremony for the five that will be released tomorrow. Bishop Rubin Phillip will be part of the welcoming delegation. Full details will be available from our office later on this afternoon.

For comment or more information please contact.

Bandile Mdlalose, Abahlali baseMjondolo General Secretary: 074 730 8120
Mnikelo Ndabankulu, Abahlali baseMjondolo Spokesperson: 079 745 0653
S’bu Zikode, Abahlali baseMjondolo President: 083 547 0474
Mzwake Mdlalose, Kennedy Road Development Committee Chairperson: 072 132 8458

CHATA and other trades belonging to the other 6 different trader associations are not happy with the relocation. Although, it has been reported by the city that traders are extremely happy. This is an issue that CHATA will challenge with the city; traders are not happy. CHATA is requesting a meeting with all of the traders in the Town Centre, the Ward Councillor, the Sub-Council, the Mayor and Felicity Purchase.

In the Town Centre, the traders are not interested in gaining power or benefiting from the process, instead it is an issue of the livelihoods of traders that have been affected tremendously. Traders need to trade where there are feet and not on an island.

It was said that tourists would visit the Mitchells Plain Town Centre during the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but nothing is happening here for the traders and hawkers during this time. Instead, the nearby community is still supporting traders, as is the case on a daily basis.

One demand from CHATA was that reports from the tribunal and workshop that were conducted be made public documents. The city has not responded to this demand and we ask why? CHATA continues to pursue this demand as the public has a right to see what went on in these sessions.

For more information please call Mischka Cassiem (CHATA) at 0731286657 or Jasmine Page (5th Avenue Traders) at 0733688690

As the World Cup began in South Africa in June 2010, the social movements of the Poor People’s Alliance continue to face off against the governing elite’s escalation of harassment, repression, and displacement.  At the same time, activists gathered at the second United States Social Forum — to bring together U.S.-based movements fighting poverty, racism and oppression, within the States as well as globally.  Some of the poor people’s organizations that gathered in the embattled and resilient, majority-Black city of Detroit for the USSF had met with members of Abahlali baseMjondolo and the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign who visited the U.S. in 2009, finding common cause and inspiration in their creative struggles and visions for a better world.

On June 25 in Detroit, members of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, Picture the Homeless, Poverty Initiative, and other movement activists at the USSF gathered to play football — as a solidarity message to our allies in South Africa and their Poor People’s World Cup games happening at the same time.

We are with you!   Aluta continua!   Amandla Ngwethu!

For past examples of New York City-based solidarity statements and actions, see here and here.