First published by GroundUp

Reclaim the City activists want an end to evictions from “maid’s rooms” and tiny rooms that some workers in Sea Point have been living in for years. Reclaim the City claims these workers are being evicted despite paying their rent.

“We want everyone in Sea Point to take a stand and protect the domestic workers, who are very vulnerable,” said Nkosikhona Swaartbooi, an organiser for the activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi, which helps organise Reclaim the City.

“I can’t be on the street with my children,” said Thandeka Sisusa, who is being evicted from the Rapallo apartment block. Sisusa has been staying in Sea Point for more than 20 years and in Rapallo for eight years. She has a 19-year-old daughter and two-month-old granddaughter, who she looks after.

According to Sisusa, she is being evicted because she doesn’t work at the flat. She is currently waiting for a court to pronounce her fate.

Another Sea Point evictee, Sheila Madikana, says that there have been efforts to evict her for over two years now. Madikana says that she currently pays R2,500 rent a month.

Madikana says that the City are offering her a place in Delft but she doesn’t want to move there as it is too dangerous for her kids. Madikana has been staying in Sea Point for 35 years. She is also trying to use legal action to stop her eviction.

Reclaim the City is also calling for Sea Point property owners as well as City of Cape Town officials to show their support and commit to building affordable homes at Sea Point’s Tafelberg property.

According to a report published last week by the Western Cape government, 270 rental homes for households earning under R7,500 a month could be built at Tafelberg. The study suggests that the rent for these homes would be R1,000 to R2,300 a month.

GroundUp is trying to get comment from some of the property owners involved in the evictions. DM

Photo: Sheila Madikana (centre) has been facing eviction for over two years now. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks