The District Six Working Committee (D6WC) has hauled the state to court for failing to provide adequate restitution for those forcefully evicted from the area since 1998.
Yesterday, D6WC chairperson Shahied Ajam and his legal representatives at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright Inc confirmed the court application was launched two weeks ago at the Land Claims Court in Johannesburg.
The application in main seeks a declaratory order and structural interdict against the state for failing to provide adequate restitution in District Six.
The minister of Rural Development and Land Reform, Commission on Restitution of Land Rights, the premier of the Western Cape, the City of Cape Town, the government of the Republic of South Africa and the District Six Beneficiary and Development Trust and its trustees are cited as co-
respondents in the matter.
Ajam said the committee represented about 2 300 families, who initially claimed for restitution between 1995 and 1998 from the national land claims commissioner.
“We recognised that the state did not implement the constitution in relation to
restitution.
“When the envelope was pushed by organisations before us, they just sat back, as if they waited for the elderly people to die so that they could make offers of cash to the younger generation who do not know about the history of District Six.
“Restorative justice is about restoring my sense of security, economic empowerment, identity, education for my child, everything that we have lost over 50 years,” he said.
Through the application, Ajam said the committee also wanted the court to declare that relevant parties in government must move as quickly as possible to finish building homes. “There must be time frames and plans, and inclusive consultation with the affected parties.”
Rural Development and Land Reform Department spokesperson Vuyani Nkasayi said the department would look at the court papers and assess the matter.
Cape Town deputy mayor Ian Neilson said he could not comment on the “alleged”
litigation at this point.