Cape Times: Anti Eviction Campaign urges poor to boycott elections

8 01 2009
Note: The Anti-Eviction Campaign is in alliance with the Landless People’s Movement (its not called the Homeless People’s Movement)
January 05, 2009 Edition 1
Aziz Hartley
Source: Cape Times

THE Anti Eviction Campaign is planning to launch a national campaign calling on voters to boycott the general elections because, it says, the government has failed the poor and politicians cannot be trusted.

Mncedisi Twalo, a leader of the organisation in Gugulethu, said the campaign slogan would be, “No land, no house, no jobs - no votes”.

“We have been preparing for months and talking to our alliance partners, Abhahali Base Mjondolo in KwaZulu-Natal and the Homeless People’s Movement in Gauteng.

“The campaign is going to all nine provinces. As the poor people of this country, we will not be voting for our further suffering, joblessness and homelessness.

“We are going out there to convince all poor communities that elections are all about power-mongering and promoting politicians.”

Twalo said the Anti Eviction Campaign was active in 46 communities across the Western Cape and represented thousands of homeless and disadvantaged families left in the lurch by politicians.

“Our main message to politicians is that we feel, as the poor, we have been left on our own. We will not participate in what is now a neo-colonialist state. We will keep pressuring whoever takes up public office.”

Jane Roberts, an Anti Eviction Campaign leader in Delft, said about 130 families evicted from incomplete houses they invaded in December 2007 were continuing to live in squalor on the pavement of Symphony Way.

She said nothing had come of numerous promises made by housing officials.

“We are going out across the Western Cape … to urge people not to vote. Politicians make promises and not a single political party can be trusted.

“Some people were told by politicians that an election boycott meant their votes would go to some other party and would be lost, but we are telling them that this is not so.”

Roberts said five Symphony Way families had been given formal homes, but the others had a bleak festive season.

Symphony Way resident Karima Linneveldt said three of the shacks burned down on Saturday morning, leaving four families homeless.

“We can’t continue like this,” she said.

“About 24 babies have been born here in tough conditions.”





Legal Brief: Poor urged to boycott elections

6 01 2009

Date: Tue 06 January 2009
Category: General
Issue No: 2226

The Anti Eviction Campaign is planning to launch a national campaign calling on voters to boycott the general elections because, it says, the government has failed the poor and politicians cannot be trusted.

Mncedisi Twalo, a leader of the organisation in Gugulethu, said the campaign slogan would be, ‘No land, no house, no jobs - no votes’. According to a Cape Times report, he added: ‘We have been preparing for months and talking to our alliance partners - Abhahali Base Mjondolo in KwaZulu-Natal and the Homeless People’s Movement in Gauteng.’ Twalo said the Anti Eviction Campaign was active in 46 communities across the Western Cape and represented thousands of homeless and disadvantaged families left in the lurch by politicians. Jane Roberts, an Anti Eviction Campaign leader in Delft, said about 130 families evicted from incomplete houses they invaded in December 2007 were continuing to live in squalor on the pavement.
Full Cape Times report (subscription needed)





Media: Rights group to launch election boycott campaign

6 01 2009
January 05, 2009 Edition 1
Aziz Hartley
Source: The Mercury

CAPE TOWN: The Anti Eviction Campaign, an organisation that fights for the rights of the homeless, is to launch a national campaign to boycott the coming general elections because it says the government has failed the poor and politicians cannot be trusted.

Mncedisi Twalo, a campaign leader in Gugulethu, Cape Town, said yesterday the body was using “no land, no house, no jobs - no votes” as its slogan.

“We have been talking to our alliance partners, Abhahali base Mjondolo (shack dwellers’ movement) in KwaZulu-Natal, and the Homeless People’s Movement in Gauteng.

“The campaign is going to all nine provinces. We are going out there to convince poor communities that elections are all about power-mongering and promoting politicians,” said Twalo.

“We feel, as the poor, we have been left on our own and will not participate in what is now a neo-colonialist state. We will not vote, but we will keep pressuring whoever takes up public office.”





Housing MEC tells backyarders to keep up the pressure on the City; AEC obliges

14 11 2008

Gugulethu AEC Press Statement
Friday 14 November, 2008

On the 2nd of November, Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign met with Whitey Jacobs, the province’s Housing MEC. At the meeting, the ANC appointee (who is responsible to house shackdwellers like ourselves) continued the usual party politics - blaming the DA run city for our predicament.

While we know that the Province (not the City) is responsible for building houses for us, we were also happy to receive support from the MEC in terms of ‘keeping up the pressure‘ on the City to release land in Gugulethu for us to occupy. Jacobs claimed to support our activism and numerous attempts to occupy vacant land on Lansdowne Road next to the Fezeka in Gugulethu.

Therefore, with the support of the MEC for Housing, the Gugulethu Backyard Dwellers will again attempt to occupy the this land in order to pressure the City and Province into providing us with our constitutional rights: land and housing.

We hope that since we have the MEC’s support, that we will also have the protection of the SAPS so that we are not assaulted by the city police.

No more party politics! No Land! No House! No Job! No Vote!

Location: ELF# RR448 on Lansdowne Road next to the Fezeka in Gugulethu
Time: 11h00am
Date: Saturday 15 November, 2008

For more information, contact:

Mncedisi at 646
Speelman at 725





Opportunistic press release by DA mentioning the AEC

5 11 2008

AEC Note: The Anti-Eviction Campaign refuses to get involved in the opportunism and politics of the DA/ANC rivalry.  We are not stupid and we know that both political parties tell lies to our communities - yet we still engage with them to try towards change.  Both the City and the Province are failing to provide basic services, land and houses to our people.  This opportunistic press release (below) should be seen as such.

PRESS RELEASE BY COUNCILOR MZUVUKILE FIGLAN
SUB-COUNCIL CHAIRPERSON- SUB- COUNCIL 14
DA MEMBER N2 DEVELOPMENT CONSTITUENCY
MIRANDA NGCULU ADMINISTRATION BUILDING
Date: 05/11/2008

I am dismayed by the manner in which MEC for Housing Whitey Jacobs can not handle questions from the Anti Eviction Campaign. In his address he alleges that when raising the question of back yard dweller with government and Municipality they speak about N2 Gate way. My borne of contention to his speech was, he was representing the government at the meeting as MEC but have chosen to flatter them. Read the rest of this entry »





Mzoli helping ANC campaign through jobs at Gugs Mall

5 11 2008
Gugulethu AEC Press Statement
November 5, 2008

On Thursday November 6, 2008 at about 7:00am, Gugulethu residents will again protest the construction of the new Gugulethu Mall.

Local investor in the development, Mzoli Ngcawuzele, is giving local ANC ward councillors Andile Matshikiza and Belinda Landingwe the authority choose which residents will get jobs on the site.

We reject the politicisation of job meant for poor residents.  We will not allow ANC ward councillors to use the availability of jobs to campaign and by votes.  We will attempt to close down the mall on Thursday demanding that Mzoli increases the amount of local jobs being offered and puts the distribution of jobs outside the hands of the political parties.

For comment, call Mncedisi at 646

Click here for other information on the Gugulethu Mall, Mzoli, and his attempts to intimidate residents





Media: ‘Election will change very little’

5 11 2008
AEC Note: While this is a fine article, Mr. Williams should make the effort to actually visit AEC communities and talk to people directly.  If he did so, he’d realise that while housing issues are our starting point, the campaign is far from a ’single issue’ movement.
By Mike Williams
November 05 2008 at 08:23AM
Source: Cape Times

In his 1983 classic entitled The Emperor, Ryszard Kapuscinski boldly stated that “usually it is said that periodic droughts cause bad crops and therefore starvation. But it is the elites of starving countries that propagate this idea. It is a false idea. The unjust or mistaken allocation of funds and national property is the most frequent source of hunger”. Read the rest of this entry »





Media: Motion of no confidence called in Drakenstein

23 10 2008
AEC Quoted at the end of article on their ‘No Land! No House! No Vote!’ policy.
Aziz Hartley
October 23 2008 at 07:41AM
Source: Cape Times

A former community safety MEC Leonard Ramatlakane joined the hundreds of people who have given up their ANC membership, more members are expected to leave the party this weekend while it is expected to lose its control of the Drakenstein Municipality. Read the rest of this entry »





Gugulethu residents to protest against new Mall backed the famous Mzoli and Old Mutual

13 10 2008

Guguelthu Anti-Eviction Campaign Press Statement
14 October, 2008

Begin: Gugulethu Sports Complex
End: Mzoli’s Place
Time: 15h00

Later today, the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign will be marching with Eyona tenants to Mzoli’s Place - a tourist hotspot and famous butchery/nightclub.

Months ago, small and informal business were evicted from Eyona Shopping Centre to make way for a new Mall. While this development is primarily being financed by Old Mutual, Mr. Mzoli Ngcauzela (whom residents have dubbed black wolf with sheep skin) has been Old Mutual’s strongman in dealing with the community.

On Sunday, Mzoli showed up to the AEC’s weekly mass meeting escorted by ANC members, taxi bosses and local thugs. They interrupted the meeting and told the community that “no one is going to stop the development”. They also warned that former members of Mkhonto we Sizwe were being deployed at the development alongside security guards to prevent any form of protest that could delay construction.

As a result, the community has decided to take their protest to Mzoli’s famous butchery and restaurant. While outside the township he has a good reputation (attracting politicians, tourists and other wealthy visitors to his butchery), in Gugs he is known for the mess, public drunkenness and violence that his butchery brings to the neighborhood. Throughout Gugs, he is also known for his suspicious business dealings and corrupt connections to politicians.

Gugulethu AEC demands that:
1.The community is meaningfully consulted about the shopping centre.
2.All informal traders are guaranteed space to conduct their business
3.Mzoli immediately ends his intimidation of residents.

For more information, contact Mncedisi at and Speelman at





AbM Note: Irene Grootboom

10 09 2008

Abahlali baseMjondolo supports the struggle of Irene Grootboom who passed away last month and who won a landmark constitutional case on housing against the government.  After she had already died, the provincial government decided to hand over a house to the Grootboom family.  This action by government is not based on the fact that they respect the outcomes of the constitutional court but is a political ploy to pretend they care about the plight of families like the Grootbooms.  As we all know,  early next year will be the national elections and Lynne Brown, the new Western Province Premier, wants to use the injustice that befell Irene as a tool for promoting her party in time for the elections.

For Lynne Brown’s opportunistic address to the Wallacedene Community, click here.

ABM Western Cape
Contact: