As the second week of the lockdown came to an end, some residents of Khayelitsha were pushed from their homes onto the streets as they couldn’t afford rent. The lockdown has shut off their income.
A community leader, Ntembeko Moyeni, said some residents had moved onto vacant city-owned land in the past week because they could not afford to pay rent after losing their income because of the lockdown. Since Thursday 9 April the City of Cape Town has been trying to evict them by demolishing their shacks.
The Social Justice Coalition and other housing activist organisations have called out the demolitions as being in violation of lockdown rules concerning evictions. The City has argued this does not apply to illegal occupations and unoccupied shacks.
On Saturday 11 April, the head of the Social Justice Coalition, Axolile Notywala, was pepper-sprayed by a City of Cape Town law enforcement officer while he was detained in the back of a van. This was as the City tried for the second time to demolish shacks in Khayelitsha.
On Sunday 12 April, there was further conflict between the City and the land occupiers. City law enforcement officers shot rubber bullets without warning at the 60 land occupiers who were protesting against the demolition of their shacks. However, there is evidence which suggests a live round had also been fired, but it is unclear by whom.
As Vincent Lali writes, the South African Human Rights Commission was on the scene to interview community leaders and residents as part of an investigation into the demolition of the shacks and human rights violations.
The Minister of Basic Education has been called upon by the likes of Equal Education and the Centre for Child Law to restart the National School Nutrition Programme during the lockdown to provide children with food in a safe, consistent way.
The programme provides nine million children with food every day during term time and if classified as an essential service facility it could function as collection points for scholars who fetch food using scholar transport buses. This is how some schools are being put to use in the Western Cape. Read the rest of the proposal here.
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/Daily-Digest-Groundbreakers.jpg "Members of Groundbreakers community outreach programme pack Easter eggs, sweets and chocolates for children in Ocean View, Cape Town on Sunday 12 April. Nadia Petersen runs the Groundbreakers feeding programme from her home in Ocean View which is one of the gang and crime hot spots in the city. Many impoverished residents rely on the one meal a day they receive from her at this time due to unemployment. (Photo: EPA-EFE /Nic Bothma)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/Daily-Digest-Easter-Hampers.jpg "Hundreds of children receive Easter packs containing easter eggs and other foods from the Groundbreakers community feeding programme in Ocean View, Cape Town on Sunday 13 April. (Photo: EPA-EFE /Nic Bothma)")
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/Daily-Digest-Running.jpg "Hundreds of children receive Easter treats from the Groundbreakers community feeding programme in Ocean View, Cape Town on Sunday 13 April. The Petersen family runs the Groundbreakers feeding programme from their home in Ocean View which helps many vulnerable families in a community severely affected by gangsterism, drugs and crime. (Photo: EPA-EFE /Nic Bothma)")
It’s official: South Africa’s Department of Health recommends that everyone should wear a cloth mask. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize made the announcement on Saturday 10 April and emphasised that medical masks should not be used by anyone but healthcare workers. Read the full announcement here.
The New York Times has made a video showing how to make a mask at home using a T-shirt without having to sew. (Video: The New York Times)
Video embed:
Video caption: The Department of Health has made a video showing how to make a mask at home using a piece of cloth, two elastic bands and a coffee filter. (Video: Department of Health). DM