Dozens of residents face eviction in Cape Town

By Nneka Nwogwugwu

About 30 people who live at the former South African National Circus School in Observatory, Cape Town has been forced to evict from the area.

Authorities of Cape Town City say it have gone to court to evict them.

The residents have formed the Willow Arts Collective and want to lease the land from the City, but they say their proposals are ignored. They want to grow vegetables, host workshops, a craft and farmers market, and arts events.

Taliona is one of about 30 people who now live at 2 Willow Road in divided rooms in the dilapidated circus school building.

Calling themselves the Willow Arts Collective, they grow vegetables to feed themselves and contribute to surrounding Community Action Networks (CANs) which run soup kitchens to feed homeless and indigent people.

Taliona has completed a permaculture course in organic farming and in summer runs free composting workshops every Saturday in which participants exchange labour for knowledge. The Willow Arts Collective was founded when the City kicked the circus school off the land in late 2018, after discovering the school was violating its lease agreement by subletting the clubhouse to tenants.

The tenants, including Taliona, who used to pay R500 a week for a room in the clubhouse, formed the collective and drew up a proposal to lease the land from the City and use it to grow vegetables, host workshops, a craft and farmers market, and arts events.

According to All Africa news, the proposal was endorsed by 16 community and non-profit organisations including the Development Action Group, Open Streets Cape Town, and the Woodstock Residents’ Association.

But City authorities decided to approach the Magistrate’s Court for an eviction order, with the original application filed in September 2019. Since then, the number of people seeking refuge on the land has doubled, partly due to the collective being unable to formalise tenancy.

In a press release of 12 August 2020, Mayco Member for Community Services Zahid Badroodien said the land “is located next to the Liesbeeck River and because it is situated within a floodplain it is not suitable for residential purposes, and it would be irresponsible of the City to condone the building of homes on this site”.

However, the City in March this year gave the go-ahead for a controversial R4.5-billion residential, retail, and office development at the River Club across the road. Not only is the River Club site in the same flood plain, it is closer to the Liesbeek and Black Rivers.