SPEECH BY EXECUTIVE MAYOR PATRICIA DE LILLE: AT
THE HANDOVER OF 60 LETTERS OF COMMITMENT TO
RESIDENTS CURRENTLY OCCUPYING THE CITY OF CAPE
TOWN’S PROPERTIES IN HANGBERG
14 JUNE 2011
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.
We are here today as part of the process of making peace in Hangberg.
This is an historic occasion for the people of Hangberg especially, but also
for all the people of Cape Town.
We have invited all stakeholders in the mediation process here to take the
next step forward, together.
In September last year, relations between the people of Hangberg and
the City broke down, unfortunately ending in violence.
In the months since, the people of Hangberg and the City of Cape Town
have been engaged in a constructive process to resolve our issues.
That process has been ably facilitated by Brian Williams, a mediator
appointed by the City after engagement with all stakeholders, who is
helping us build a new relationship of constructive engagement with the
Hangberg community.
We can only ever move forward as a united city if we engage each other
openly, honestly and fairly.
In the case of Hangberg, that engagement has taken time and is not yet
complete.
However, I believe that we have made positive strides in working towards
our goal of inclusive collaboration.
The first step in that process was the establishment of the Hangberg
Community Peace and Mediation Forum (HCPMF).
With its establishment, and after intense and transparent consultations,
the people of Hangberg chose their representatives.
Those representatives have communicated the community’s wishes to the
City and have been our partners in this process.
With the HCPMF, numerous projects for the improvement of Hangberg
were identified as markers for the mediation process.
These include: the maintenance of the flats and row houses; the transfer
of row houses; the development of new community residential units; the
upgrade of the informal settlement; and the greater roll-out of service
delivery.
These projects are proceeding as planned, with the participation of the
community and the HPMF. I am pleased that as a direct result of the
mediation process the City is now able to provide services in these priority
areas to the people of Hangberg.
We are here today to mark the progress of one particular project: the
transfer of 60 row houses that are currently owned by the City to
eventual ownership by their long-standing tenants.
The row houses were built by the City in 1965 and not with ownership as
the end goal in mind. The City and the HCPMF have agreed that it is now
time for the community to take ownership.As such, it is taking time to
complete the necessary work that preparing them for full ownership
entails.
As our work with the HCPMF has shown us, the tenants of these row
houses have been living in these houses for decades, either personally or
their families.
Given the deep sense of community in Hangberg and its rich history and
traditions, these houses have become as much a part of the community
as the people.
As part of the mediation process, we have already completed some of the
work that will allow us to transfer ownership to the tenants.
The Land Surveyor has completed the subdivision diagrams for the
individual units.
Those subdivisions now have to be workshopped with the City
Departments responsible for services so that we can ensure that the units
receive the best service delivery.
The subdivisions must also be duly agreed to by the tenants themselves
so that we have complete engagement on the process.
Once these processes are complete, as well as the proper legal processes,
the official transfers of ownership will take place.
As a show of the City’s commitment to the mediation effort, we are
reaffirming this process by committing to the duly identified residents that
the transfer of ownership will happen.
The letters being distributed to residents today acknowledge how far we
have come and the destination we are heading to.
The letters are a symbol of our full engagement of trust with the
community.
The letters say that the City will give ownership to each tenant.
This is the latest positive development in our mediation efforts.
This administration is committed to an open system of full engagement to
build an inclusive city that unites everyone.
The people of Hangberg are an integral part of our metro and we are
proud of our work with the HCPMF to take our relationship forward to
rebuild our trust and respect for one another.
These letters are a demonstration of that.