SEDGEFIELD NEWS - Frustrated by repeated delays and lack of clear communication regarding a proposed social-housing development, a group of residents from Sedgefield moved onto a vacant municipal land parcel on Friday, erecting temporary structures.
The land has been earmarked for social housing since 2019.
The action is a form of protest against the prolonged stagnation of the project and the absence of meaningful updates or accommodation for those whose housing needs remain unaddressed.
Funding withdrawn
At a finance update meeting on Monday 13 October, municipal officials confirmed once again that funding for the housing project has been withdrawn.
This marks yet another postponement in a development that has been in the planning stage for several years - and residents say their patience is wearing thin.
Municipal officials together with the police and law enforcement are reportedly monitoring the development, and an eviction process is now understood to be under formal preparation.
Community activist
Concerned resident and community activist Lynn Kayster responded to a post where a community member thanked her for her assistance with the potential eviction issue:
"I do what I can ... I am not acting to take away any credit from any councillor or Party. I just want justice to be done. The law remains the law. KM must remain within the framework of the law…nobody is ABOVE the law! There are many who help … in front and behind the scenes … the more the merrier, I guess."
Kayster also questioned why the legal protections under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act of 1998 (PIE Act), which were applied to backyard dwellers in Hornlee who erected houses on proposed social housing sites, are not being equally applied to the current occupants of the land in Smutsville.
Background
The land in question was identified for housing development in 2019, when the housing section of the Knysna Local Municipality engaged the Sedgefield community about a series of proposed developments including social-housing units to address informal-settlement and backyard-dweller needs.
A 2021 article noted four sites had been identified around Sedgefield, with the municipality estimating 186 housing opportunities across those sites, but with the caveat that no detailed timeline had yet been set.
Since then, funding has evidently not materialised as planned, and the latest finance meeting has confirmed the withdrawal of funding.
At the time of going to press, no official comment was received from Knysna Municipality.
‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’
