Court case opposing Cosmo City development fails—Zevenfontein residents stand to benefit

A residents’ association opposed to the planned mixed-use, mixed-income Cosmo City development to take place in northern Johannesburg, took Johannesburg Metro to court on February 23, 2004 in an attempt to stop it. This is the most recent of several attempts by the Jukskei Crocodile Catchment Area Forum to stop the development—the residents’ association has also lodged an administrative appeal with the provincial Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land (DACEL) in response to their approval of the project. However, the court case, at least, has finally failed, as the judge has dismissed the lawsuit. Despite vigourous fundraising attempts, which played on the racial prejudices of their target constituency, the residents’ association was unable to post the required amount for the payment of legal fees to Johannesburg Metro in the event they lost the case. In dismissing the case, the judge also commented on the importance of fulfilling the right to housing for the millions of inadequately housed South Africans.

For residents of Zevenfontein, an informal settlement that is slated to be relocated to Cosmo City, this defeat of the court challenge is a major victory. They have been waiting for several years to access decent housing, as they have been told by Joburg Metro they cannot upgrade at the location of their current settlement due to alternative plans by the registered owner of that land. When the township application for Cosmo City was finally approved by council in late 2002, followed by DACEL’s ‘record of decision’ in January 2003 to approve the project (subject to conditions that would address mainly environmental concerns), the community was elated. That is, until they learned of the objectors to the project. A full year later, these objections are finally put to rest. However, one pending lawsuit by a private landowner remains a hurdle to the project, as does DACEL’s decision on the administrative appeal. But there is little question at this point that the development will proceed, and the development company contracted by Joburg Metro, Codevco Pty Ltd, is again busy making plans.

The representative body from the community, the Zevenfontein CDF, with whom Planact has been working throughout this ordeal, intends to work with Joburg Metro, Codevco, and the community to ensure the community is actively involved in the development of the final subsidy beneficiary list and the relocation plans.

Zandspruit residents, organised into the Joint Committee of the Private Plots, have started to see some benefit from their many efforts to engage the Joburg Council on the need for services in their area. Several thousand people have been living on private land surrounding a government-designated transit camp in the area, and the government has refused to provide even the most basic services of water and sanitation on the grounds that the settlement resides on private land. Residents queue for hours at a borehole, or purchase water from the neighboring transit camp. But recently, the Joburg Metro agreed to revise this position and provide 18 temporary water tanks in the area. By June, they had installed nine of the promised water tanks.

This decision may have been influenced by a directive from the Department of Provincial and Local Government, which stated that all residents, regardless of where they live, have the right to a free basic allocation of water. This will bring a significant improvement to the lives of the Zandspruit residents in the interim. However, in the longer term, creative strategies are necessary to upgrade the settlements and provide permanent services such as sanitation, electricity, community infrastructure and housing.

New Steering Committee elected in Vosloorus to drive PHP

In March, 2003, the community of Vosloorus, extension 28, elected new representation for taking the People’s Housing Process forward. The previous 11-member Steering Committee for the project, having successfully completed the first phase of 250 units, stepped down to make way for the new committee, which has been restructured to include a direct link to the area ward committee. There are now five full members of the committee, who directly represent beneficiaries of the PHP project and are elected by the community for that purpose. In addition, there are three ex-officio members consisting of two representatives of the area ward committee and the ward councillor, who will be chairing the meetings. It is hoped that this will contribute to more direct accountability of the PHP Steering Committee both to the beneficiaries and the community as a whole.

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