*This article was written at the time of the 2011 Local Government Elections*
Corrugated iron and wood structures are neatly lined up in rows across the large open field. There are hundreds of them and for a moment they look like they have been placed in way that will allow officials to add more at any given time. They are packed tightly- liked sardines in a tin.
All around there is rubbish littering the vast area of the informal settlement. Ironically, posters urging residents to vote for a better future in the up coming local government elections, litters all the poles available. Around the settlement babies can be heard crying, the sound breaking into the hustle and the bustle of the busy road where many, young and old have lost their lives.
This is Blikkiesdorp, a temporary relocation area located on Symphony Way in Delft. It is home to more than a thousand families, many of them having been “dumped” there in 2007, after they had invaded houses on the N2 Gateway they believed they were entitled to.
It is election season and political parties can be seen canvassing in the area. All of them in the hope of making huge in roads in the 2011 local government elections. Residents in the area some of them too shy to give their names, are not too sure if they will be voting in the elections.
Blikkiesdorp is home to Museefah Abrahams a mother of three, who worked for Golden Arrow Bus Services, before becoming a community activist and ward candidate. Abrahams says she is unemployed by choice and has no reason to be dependent on the goodwill of others. She became a widow while she was pregnant with her third child.
Her hope is that residents of Blikkiesdorp will vote with their heads and not their hearts. She is confident that she would be able to make a tangible difference in her community.
At the end of 2007 several families invaded flats along the N2 which was built as part of the N2 Gateway housing project. Residents were spurred on my former ward councillor for the Democratic Alliance, Frank Martin who had encouraged the families to occupy the homes.
“Before I decided to join these people, I was employed as a bus driver at Golden Arrow. They have told me that I can go back any time. But since I have discovered what politics is all about I am not really interested in going back to work,” says Abrahams.
Her eyes light up with excitement as she speaks about her fight to get the residents in Blikkiesdorp better housing. She is confident that she will be elected as ward councillor. “Who better to be a ward councillor than someone who knows what these residents are going through everyday?” asks Abrahams
Residents mill around Abrahams as she outlines her plans for the residents of Blikkiesdorp, who say they have been dumped there and have no hope of the City ever providing them with better housing. As Abrahams speaks her eyes light up and her passion for politics is evident.
The main concern for her and residents from Blikkiesdorp is housing as well as the busy road which school children have to cross everyday. They have had several engagements with City officials which have proved futile. “We wrote a letter to the Mayor to ask for help in this regard. He directed us to write a letter to the head of the traffic department. That was two years ago and we did not hear anything from them again,” says Abrahams.
Abrahams believes that the National Independent Civic Organisation (NICO) will be able to improve the quality of life for residents in the area. She has been put up as the ward councillor for the area and says she will be able to highlight the plight of the residents in Blikkiesdorp.
“I am standing for the National Independent Civic Organisation. I feel very comfortable with them because it is an organization which exists of other people who also stay in TRA’s and squatter camps just like us. So they are going through the same thing we are going through. We are taking people out of the weakest situation to make them leaders,” says Abrahams.
In Blikkiesdorp, according to Abrahams everyone is like one big family. “Here I know the people. We have a situation where my children are their children. I have even advised people to make sure that I do not move before they do,” she says.
While the City has provided the community with pre-paid electricity boxes, Abrahams says she encourages residents not to allow the City of Cape Town to improve their living conditions, as she believes the more comfortable they are in Blikkiesdorp the less likely it is that they will be provided with proper housing by the City.
“Government has made it clear that Blikkiesdorp is no different from any of the people on the current housing waiting list. There is a Western Cape waiting list which they are working according to. Those who wait the longest will get a house first,” says Abrahams
But for Abrahams and the rest of the community it appears as if the City is not building any new houses. She quickly adds that they do not want anything for free; they are prepared to pay rent. “It means it is going to take forever to build houses unless, we as the people, make a plan and organise ourselves to build our own houses, which is not impossible because I’ve the skills to make it happen,” says Abrahams
Abrahams feels that neither the DA led city nor the ANC has done enough to ease their plight. While the local government elections are only a few weeks away she says she is encouraging residents to vote for NICO. “The people who evicted us was the ANC. They signed off the notice for us to be evicted and that is my reason for telling the people not to vote for the ANC. They could stop the eviction but they did not,” explains Abrahams.
She feels an agreement could have been reached between the City and the residents who had invaded the homes. She says this would have gone a long way in ensuring that they (the ANC) received the vote of the residents.
“At least today they would have been able to look back and say maybe those people would be voting for us because we gave them houses. But they cannot say that because they did not do that instead they did more harm to our people,” says Abrahams.
Blikkiesdorp, explains the City of Cape Town’s media office has 1680 structures, with each structure being occupied by a family of four. Abrahams says there could be about ten thousand people living in temporary relocation area. But the City will not be drawn on this figure and instead gives the number of structures. The City insists that Blikkiesdorp residents will be moved into proper housing structures once they are built. However, the spokesperson for the City of Cape Town, Kylie Hatton, says they are not able to say how long this process will take.
“There is no timeline in place for all residents to be allocated with houses. We are in discussions with the provincial government, as well as Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) to look at ways of redeveloping the broader area of Delft and not just Blikkiesdorp,” says Hatton.
It’s a bright and crisp morning – Election Day has dawned and political parties have had to end their canvassing two days ago. Abrahams is optimistic that she will do well and runs smoothly in Blikkiesdorp. At the Independent Electoral Commission’s result centre in Bellville the anxiety can be cut with knife.
As the election results slowly trickle in to the IEC result centre, NICO’s representatives realise they may not have done well in this election as hoped. While they have won a seat on the City Council for the next five years, they cling on to the hope that they may be one of the parties that could hold the balance of power.
This soon changes as it becomes clear the next day that the Democratic Alliance has won an out-right majority. Abrahams has to admit defeat, but is struggling to come to terms with the fact that her community has turned their back on her.
“There were more people against the idea of me running for councillor because of jealousy. I think I attracted too much attention from the media and VIPS, and people did not like that. That may have been one of the reasons why they decided to vote for people outside of the area, than to vote for me who has done a lot for the community,” explains a perplexed Abrahams
The soft pitter- patter of rain can be dripping on Abraham’s wood and iron structure. It is cold and damp as her one roomed structure was primatively built. “The structure I’m living in was not built very well. My hokkie itself is raining in from the outside so my place is wet. I have not had time to do any fixing because I’ve been out doing community work,” says Abrahams.
Despite not being elected as a ward councillor for the area of Blikkiesdorp, Abrahams says she will continue with her work in the community. But she says her approach will be different now.
She says the community has to realize that in order for them to see change in their community they will have to make a contribution as well. “I’ve decided to continue with my community work. But I will no longer be using money that is meant to feed my children to help others in the community who were not prepared to vote for me,” says Abrahams.
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