Social Justice Coalition 

19 July 2022

Constitutional Court dismisses appeal in allocation of adequate and equitable police resources case. On 19 July 2022, the Constitutional Court dismissed the application for leave to appeal in Social Justice Coalition & others v The Minister of Police CCT 121/21 which it heard on 3 February 2022. The Social Justice Coalition (SJC) was represented by the Legal Resources Centre (LRC).

On 14 December 2018, the Equality Court found and declared that the allocation of police human resources and the system used by SAPS to determine the allocation of police human resources in the Western Cape unfairly discriminates against Black and poor people based on the grounds of race and poverty. The hearing on what relief should be granted to remedy the unfair discrimination found in the judgment was postponed “to a date which shall be arranged with the parties”. Despite numerous attempts by the LRC to convene a hearing, the Equality Court has not responded.

As a result, the LRC approached the Constitutional Court in April 2021 on behalf of the SJC seeking leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court against what it deemed to be the Equality Court’s constructive refusal to grant a remedy. Alternatively, we sought direct access to the Constitutional Court to determine the outstanding issues in the 2016 Equality Court application. In the further alternative, direct access to the Constitutional Court for the limited purpose of issuing directions to the Equality Court with regard to the finalisation of the proceedings before it.

Although recognising that it is concerning that poor and Black communities in the Western Cape have been discriminated against and have not been provided with a remedy by the Equality Court, the Constitutional Court nonetheless concluded that it does not have jurisdiction to decide on the matter. Acting Justice Unterhalter for the majority explained that leave to appeal cannot be granted because there is no order from the Equality Court to appeal. As the Equality Court have not made a decision on the remedy, the matter remains pending before that court. Based on this the failure of the Equality Court to decide on relief for the SJC does not mean that the Constitutional Court has the authority to declare that there has been constructive dismissal. Instead, where there has been an egregious delay in hearing a dispute, the complainant may approach a competent court alleging that a judge has infringed on the right of access to the court as guaranteed under section 34 of the South African Constitution.

The Constitutional Court held that it is not the competent court that should have been approached but that we may bring an application before the Presiding Judge to cure the infringement of the right to access to courts. According to the Constitutional Court, it has no competence to enforce our right of access to the courts until the Equality Court has declined to do so. The Constitutional Court’s dismissal has by no means discouraged us. The recent surge in murders in Khayelitsha demonstrates the intersections between race, poverty and safety in South Africa broadly, but especially in informal settlements. Furthermore, the call for the construction of a permanent police station in Makhaza, Khayelitsha to increase safety service
provision in the area, shows the necessity of vindicating the rights of poor and Black communities who continue to suffer from discriminatory allocation of police resources. This call follows recommendation 19 of the Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry which alongside other recommendations have been a beacon of hope for safety in poor and Black communities in townships like Khayelitsha.

[ENDS]

For further information/comment contact:
Thando George (SJC): Thando.George@sjc.org.za – 073 747 1121
Thabo Ramphobole (SJC): Thabo@lrc.org.za – 068 584 2442

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In the reflection of the past 7 years since the KCOI was released, the SJC wants to remind the Minister of Police and other state parties of their constitutional obligation to protect everyone and implement the recommendations in such a way that translates into impact for those living in informal settlements.  The SJC has over the years observed the lack of initiative and implementation from the government (both national and provincial) which directly reflects the current state of crime and violence in Khayelitsha and neighbouring informal settlements.  The recent quarter one crime statistics for April to June 2021 are also a reflection of a failed system policing system, the Western Cape has some of the most murderous neighborhoods, many of which are informal settlements, in the country. It is noteworthy that during the KCOI, it was found that two of the Khayelitsha police stations (Harare and Khayelitsha Site B) were significantly understaffed and under-resourced.  In recognition of this, the national government promised to build a police station for residents of Makhaza, seven years later there is still no police station in sight.  In 2019, the SJC built a short “wall of hope” on the land that was allocated for the Makhaza police station, the objective of the wall of hope is to remind the people living in that community to not lose hope and that one day the government would fulfil their promise to residents.

This year’s commemoration will be virtual with speakers from different schools of thought to reflect on the effectiveness of commissions of inquiry and accountability before the law, historical and current policing of people living in poor and working class communities from both legal and socio-political lenses.  Also, the impact of violence and crime in communities and the usefulness of commissions from a grassroots perspective.  Our panel of speakers include Ziyanda Stuurman, Songezo Mabece, Nomzamo Zondo, and Welcome Makele.

The commemoration event goes live at 11:00 from both our Facebook and Youtube Pages where attendees will be able to stream and participate in the commemoration using the comment tabs on both platforms.

The post Media Statement: Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry Commemoration Day appeared first on Social Justice Coalition.

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The Minister of Police, Bheki Cele revealed the first quarterly crime statistics from April to June 2021. The suggested lens the minister prescribed for the interpretation of the current crime report fails to offer recourse on the state of crime in the country. Most of the crime categories have all increased in the reporting cycle, murder in the minister’s preferred context has had a 6.7% increase and sexual assault has a 13.9% increase.

Violence and crime in South Africa have reached spine-chilling rates. In previous years, the Social Justice Coalition has drawn attention to the police resources court case and to the continued failure to build the Makhaza police station. The findings of the Khayelitsha Commission of inquiry revealed that the system of human resource allocation used by the South African Police Service has resulted in two of the Khayelitsha police stations (Harare and Khayelitsha Site B) being significantly understaffed and under-resourced. In 2013 residents of Makhaza were promised a police station, eight years later there is still no police station in sight. In the previous crime stats (January – March 2021), Khayelitsha came up as the province’s murder capital, but little has been done to address the under-policing of informal settlements. Police stations with the highest levels of serious contact crime remain poorly resourced.

Rape has increased by a staggering 72.4% the increase in the level of gender-based violence, specifically sexual violence speaks directly to the structural failures within the FCS Unit. The Social Justice Coalition has looked into where these FCS units are situated and we have found that physicality of where these units are situated are seemingly arbitrary, making them inaccessible to the women and children who need them the most. The unreasonable location of these FCS units in so far as where their

clusters are situated is nowhere near the precincts that are in most need of these services. The drastic rise in violent crimes is assisted by the lack of visible policing, the insufficient human resources at these precincts and the failures of government to implement the recommendations from the Khayelitsha Commission of inquiry.

The minister has further revealed that most assault cases occurred either in the home of the victim or the perpetrator. This shows us that this kind of violence is of an intimate nature, the victim and perpetrator more than likely know each other. However, the police have failed to deal with these cases with the urgency they require. In 2018/2019 it was reported that over 140 000 applications for protection orders were made. Yet only 22 000 were granted. This further illustrates the extent to which the policing and criminal justice are failing our communities especially women, children and LGBTQI+ persons who are categorised as the most vulnerable according to international law.

The Social Justice Coalition calls on the Minister of Police, National and the Western Cape Police Commissioners to increase their efforts towards operational oversight in the Western Cape precincts and deal with operational issues so that police resources are adequately deployed and allocated to enable visible policing in informal settlements that are hardest hit by violent crimes.

The post Media Statement: First Quarter Crime Statistics 2021 appeared first on Social Justice Coalition.

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The affected areas in the City of Cape Town are Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Phillipi, Mfuleni, Langa, Masiphumelele, Dunoon, Strand, and Hout Bay. In response to this crisis, disaster management from The City of Cape Town has not only been unable to adequately assist formalized residential areas across the Cape but stated that little to no assistance would be given to residents living in newly established informal settlements in The City of Cape Town.

Flooding in informal settlements is a recurring annual disaster in Cape Town, this is well known by all who live in the metro but despite this knowledge, there are no contingency plans made by the city to assist residents who are constantly affected by the annual floods. Chapter 4 of the Disaster Management Act (DMA) sets out clear instructions that each province is obligated to establish and implement a framework for disaster management, it further binds provinces to actively prevent and mitigate disasters. For this year’s round of assistance from the city, officials suggested that community members who have flooded homes in informal settlements use sandbags to mitigate the floods, included in their response to the crisis people found themselves in was the reminder that they should have not been staying in those areas in the first place. This was said by city officials who should have had a contingency plan to assist in the yearly disaster we all expected and anticipated but worse, it was said by officials that should be aware of the circumstances that force people to live in flood-prone areas in the first place.

It’s important to note that both formal and informal settlements in the Cape metro experienced flooding. For the past 8 to 10 months the residents of Khayelitsha, formal and informal areas, have had their streets flooded due to broken and faulty drainage and pipeline systems. Countless community members have reported their issues to the Social Justice Coalition (SJC) due to non-response from the municipality.  As far back as last year August, the SJC has assisted communities such as Taiwan in Site C and  BM in site B by helping them lodge online service requests to report faulty stormwater drains and the sewer blockages on The City of Cape Towns online system, to date none of these drains has been repaired. Water in informal settlements is not only undrainable but is also sewage ridden, children and adults are forced to be in contact with it every day.

Last year we had an influx of residents complaining about the increase in illnesses in their children. These ranged from minor to major health problems their children and the elderly were developing. Prof Angie Mathee from the Environment & Health Research Unit at Stellenbosch university explained that areas with dysfunctional wastewater systems may contribute to elevated levels of diarrhoeal diseases, helminthic infections, skin diseases and other ill health outcomes, especially in young children. These aligned with the symptoms community members had complained to the organisation about. Furthermore, Mathee, explained that areas with dysfunctional wastewater systems are a major public health concern. The increase of infections and diseases is happening at a time when our public health system is overloaded, we are currently faced with unprecedented amounts of patients filling up hospitals due to COVID – 19 infections, The illnesses we refer to above could have been easily avoided if the Cape metro followed basic municipal mandates.

In the 20202021 CoCt budget, the city had 5,227,925,000  in their reserve funds. These funds, amongst other things, are collected from unspent funds from numerous municipal departments such as housing or water and sanitation departments in the metro. Reserve funds are usually reserved for emergencies such as water crises to epidemics such as Covid-19.

The City of Cape Town did not increase or fast track an already gross sanitation system in informal settlements, but it failed to ensure that residents in these poor areas have the one thing needed to help mitigate the prevention of Covid-19, clean water and decent sanitation. Less than 1% of the budget, about (32,500,000) is needed to increase the number of basic services in informal settlements. This would leave the city with about 5,2 billion to pay for other things. There is no excuse for the conditions that people living informal settlements are subjected to under the Cape metro.

Floods are not the only disaster that The City of Capetown fails to prepare a contingency plan for. Early this year over 500 people were displaced due to shack fires, this is another annual disaster The City of Cape Town fails to create a contingency plan for.

Stating all the instances in which The City of Cape Town has failed to meet its obligations, as per the disaster management act states each province is supposed to, would demean the many hours, trips and complaints made by civil society pleading with The City Of Cape Town to follow the mandate prescribed to them in the DMA. The disturbing reality is that every year people in the Cape Metro report floods and fires to a municipality that has funds allocated to help with the disaster, the same municipality scapegoats the poorest of those people in desperate need of help by telling them that they are the reason they’re facing the issue they’re currently in.

What we are left to contend with, is the reality of a municipality that seems to actively want to punish the poor and black for their existence.  And the next question we ought to ask ourselves perhaps is how we should report a municipal system that is anti-black and anti-poor.

For more information contact:

Nkosikhona Swaartbooi – 072 485 9826

Bonga Zamisa – 063 069 3436

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The violence displayed by the two warring taxi associations has been brute. Taxis are shot at despite there being numerous passengers on board, in the past month, men from rival taxi groups shot at taxis heading in the direction of Cape Town city centre, three passengers sustained gunshot wounds. A GoldenArrow bus driver was shot in the  early hours of Monday morning.  According to Western Cape Transport MEC Mitchel Daylin, over 120 000 commuters were held hostage by the recent spate of turf wars .

In the press conference held on the 22nd July 2021 today by Minister of transport Fikile Mbalula, the minister remarked on the magnitude of taxi violence, he further mentioned how it’s nothing new. Taxi violence has rendered people imobile, claimed lives for years and no initiative from all levels of government have been made to regulate and monitor the fight for routes within taxi groups. This, in addition to an already existing range of problems within metrorail, illustrates that the Department of Transport has not done enough to ensure an efficient public transport system and this directly impacts the livelihoods of poor and working class members of our society. 

Minister Mbalula acknowledged that the ongoing negotiations between members of government and the two taxi associations have not yielded any productive results so, thus, it is unclear how long poor and working class people will be stranded for. This does not only have economic implications on commuters who may have to either not go to work or arrive late, but it is a safety and security issue for those that have to walk at night in the absence of reliable transport. The safety and security concerns are further heightened by the high levels of crime and violence in our society, especially in the context of informal settlements where there is no adequate public lighting.

 Close to 70% of the South african population uses taxi services. Historically the mode of transport developed over the need to transport black people to white areas for work. The group areas act was abolished many years ago, however its legacy still lives on. In the Cape metro, the routes that are currently being fought over carry black bodies every single day to merge the gap created by the aphartheid legacy. The distance from economic hubs is what has made the taxi industry the bloodline for jobs and opportunities for a majority of black people. The violence we are currently witnessing can not merely be reduced to “another taxi war”, it is a major blow to the lives and livelihoods of black people. Money needed for basic necessities is stripped from families when there is a taxi war, whether it is from a life lost or a job missed.  Government finding solace at another round of agreements between taxi groups as a good enough resolution after the bloodshed  we’ve recently witnessed is not enough. 

The SJC calls for the government to find long lasting solutions to address the ongoing challenges of commuters both in the province and in the country at large. It is not enough for the government to keep treating this matter as though it is one of  haphazard nature, when in fact it has been ongoing for years. We further call on the ministries of Transport and police to come together with the provincial government of the Western Cape to find effective and lasting solutions that will ensure that the lives and livelihoods of black poor people are protected. In the absence of well functioning trains, this matter is one that is very urgent and we urge the government at both provincial and national levels to treat this with the urgency it deserves.

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Today the Minister of Police Bheki Cele revealed the quarterly crime statistics from January to March 2021. In his presentation he highlighted that SAPS implemented crime preventative measures in efforts to combat crime. These measures have resulted in a significant decrease in aggravated robbery and property related crimes. From this, it is apparent that crime prevention is an integral part in decreasing crime, but why has the minister not implemented the same preventative measures to protect women and LGBTQI+ persons in an effort to fight gender-based violence and harassment? Crime in South Africa is an intersectional issue. This means that marginalised and vulnerable people such as women, people living in poverty and members of the LGBTQI+ community witness and endure a wide range of crimes due to their positionalities. This, alongside other structural factors such as the failure of the police to be visible and adequately police informal settlements, means that these marginalised identities are constantly denied their rights to justice. It is for this reason that the SJC finds the apology from the Minister unacceptable and a continuation of an act of lip service without action from the government. In a time where there is a war waged on women’s and queer bodies, an apology does not represent justice. Until actions are put in place to ensure the safety of women and other marginalised identities, we will continue to see forms of gendered crimes waged on these identities. Fighting for justice and equality! www.sjc.org.za We welcome the 3.9% decrease in sexual offences; however, we are cautious in celebrating these figures. The statistics released by the minister only account for women who have been brave enough to come forward and report their cases. Our policing and criminal justice research particularly on gender justice and policing in informal settlements has shown that women in Khayelitsha and other informal settlements are reluctant to report cases of sexual offences and GBVH. The 2014 Khayelitsha Commission of Inquiry revealed that the relationship between SAPS and communities in Khayelitsha has completely broken down; this mistrust continues 7years after the recommendations from the commission were published. At the Portfolio Committee on Police held on the 7th of May, Joemat-Pettersson who chaired the meeting raised the need to improve police service delivery as a huge concern in the Western Cape. The chair mentioned two disturbing incidents from Khayelitsha and Langa that spoke to this issue. In March this year, a woman from Site B in Khayelitsha went to a police station to report that she was sexual assaulted and was told by the police officer on duty that she must investigate the matter herself. The second incident took place in Langa, where a woman reported that she had been raped and ended up being sexually assaulted by the police officer she was reporting her case to. Such incidents of women being disregarded by members of SAPS when they have experienced sexual crimes shows that perhaps, SAPS has to be more intentional about teaching its officers about the Sexual Offences Act and other related Acts as per the recommendations of the Khayelitsha Commission of Injury. Furthermore, members of the SAPS who commit such crimes must be held accountable for their crimes. It cannot be that women experience such secondary victimisation from members of SAPS who are meant to serve, assist and have a constitutional obligation to protect. SJC wants the Minister of Police to increase his efforts towards operational oversight in the Western Cape precincts and deal with operational issues so that police resources are adequately deployed and allocated to enable visible policing in informal settlements that are hardest hit by violent crime.

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On the 22 of March 2021, 22 communities across the City of Cape Town held a protest in demonstration against the gross human rights violations they are constantly subjected to by the City Of Cape Town. The protest was a peaceful demonstration held  at Sea Point in Cape Town. This particular area was of importance significance, being that 11 years ago, communities across Cape Town demonstrated for the exact same thing, water and sanitation. 11 years later and community member living in informal settlements still have to resort to a demonstration, once again to ask for their basic constitutional right to be fulfilled, to ask for their right to water and sanitation.

The protest began at 10 am at the Sea Point Promenade. The delegation marched peacefully throughout the streets of Sea Point, the South African Police Service escorted the delegation throughout the area and also assisted in controlling the traffic flow in the streets, the delegation was moving through.

It was of upmost importance that the protest was conducted in a peaceful manner, because the Social Justice Coalition aims to fight for the  rights to life, dignity, equality, freedom and safety for all people. It is important to ensure that while exercising our Constitutional right to protest, we do not trample on the rights of others as that in itself would be a fallacy in our movement.

People living in informal settlements are subjected to various forms of oppression, economic oppression being one of them, it was of importance that our actions do not affect their ability to access transport systems that will allow them to attend to the very jobs that are scarce in the country. This knowledge was also a deciding factor in our decision to end the protest yesterday so as to allow those community member that have jobs to attend to today  to be able to do so.

We do not condone the actions demonstrated by the Intlungu yase Matyotyombeni Movement today. Protests that involve the inconveniencing, destruction and destabilisation,  of those living in poor communities is a painful and violent act that people who are already  victims of an oppressive system should not have to deal with. This only adds to the daily and constant struggles they have to go through in order to access their means to life.

The absolute purpose of this protest was to have resolute plans from the city of Cape Town regading when they would install basic services in all of these of communities.  We  contacted Mayor Dan Plato to meet with us  and give us a set time frame and plan of action to respond to the gross human right violations the city of Cape Town has subjected people living in informal settlements to. The mayor agreed to meet with representatives from the delegation to discuss this matter.

The delegation included Nkosikhona Swaartbooi from the SJC and community leaders from the 23 that were protesting yesterday.  In the meeting , Dan Plato agreed to meet up with the communities, he promised to give them a call today to confirm the time and date he when he would meet communities and address all  who were present at the march. The mayor also stated that in meeting with these communities he would have a clear understanding on what type of basic services each community needs and the amount of resources needed to install dignified  water and sanitation systems for each of those of them.

The SJC alongside these communities will continue to engage and update all on this process of accessing basic services for all. This is a critical step to ensure that our constitutional rights are experienced by all, most importantly to ensure that those who are tasked with the  Constitutional obligation to ensure that all have access to basic services, are held accountable when they become the very same people that violate those human rights.

For more information contact: Noma Masemula –  064 807 1708

Nkosikhona Swaartbooi – 078 548 2875

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It has now been 11 years since then and to this day the SJC is still approached by residents of Informal Settlements across Cape Town, requesting assistance with regards to getting the City of Cape Town to fulfil their constitutional obligation to provide access to basic services in poor communities. This human rights day cannot be celebrated by these residents when they are living under a municipality that refuses to provide the most basic and fundamental rights to poor and working class residents that live in Cape Town.

Since October 2020, the SJC’s organising team has been conducting community consultations with over 45 communities, most of these communities were established during the South African lockdown pronounced by President Cyril Ramaphosa but some have existed for decades without basic services.

These communities reached out for support to deal with the plight of not having access to water and sanitation.  The SJC held consultative meetings with all these community leaders, where they raised a lot of concerns that were affecting them. These ranged from the lack of basic service provision, gender-based violence, femicide, patriarchy, misogyny, and dealing with mental health issues.

The link between rape and assault experienced by women and a lack of access to basic services is one that is grievously ignored by the City of Cape Town and has led to the loss and pain of many women who live in informal settlements.  Many women who have escaped abusive partners have fled to these newly established communities to build themselves safe homes for them to live with their kids. These residents are then having to live in these areas that do not have basic services such as water, sanitation, and lighting.

Accessing toilets for women living in informal settlements is a dangerous and frightening experience. In some communities the very few existing toilets are far or completely unavailable, many residents including women are having to walk distances away from their homes to relieve themselves in bushes which are most likely to open them to attacks such as rapes and assaults.

Out of the 45 communities, 23 of them together with SJC started engaging their ward councillors, and they explained that they were having difficulties in their quest to get the municipality to address the issue of basic services in their wards. We even went as far as meeting with the sub-council managers who shared documents that showed that the city has put it in writing to the council that they will not be providing basic services to the newly formed communities. The basis of the City of Cape Town not providing basic services is that they do not agree with how these communities came into existence and believe that these residents are land grabbers with the intension of jumping the “housing queue list”.

The other reason given is that these residents’ homes are located in pieces of land that are privately owned and that the provision of basic services becomes difficult for the City, even though, many of these communities are in publicly owned pieces of land with some owned by the City of Cape Town, Western Cape Provincial Government and/or National government.

How is this happening when our constitution gives us a guarantee to the right to life, the right to dignity, the right to access adequate housing and the right to basic services such as water and sanitation?

Despite these provisions made available by our beautiful constitution founded upon the principles of Batho Pele, many black people have not yet had the privilege of enjoying these rights. This is for many of us, is reminiscent of how the apartheid government treated poor black people in Cape Town. Denying poor people, the fulfilment of their basic rights.

For these reasons it is impossible to celebrate Human Rights Day, it would be an insult to the many people who do not have access to basic services in the City Of Cape Town.

We will not celebrate Human Rights Day, celebrated annually on 21 March 2021.

Instead, we will exercise our constitutional right to protest and convene a March at a location to be disclosed (tomorrow morning at 9 am), this protest will highlight our struggle and voice out our lived experience.

This march will also be joining activists globally who are raising awareness on the access to water on the 22 March, World Water Day.

It is not Human Rights Day until we see human rights fulfilled in Informal Settlements across the City of Cape Town!

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The numbers of infections are not a representation of recklessness from residents of Khayelitsha, but they tell a story of the geopolitics of the area. Khayelitsha has one of the highest concentrations of informal settlements in South Africa, many of which do not get adequate and regular services.  As a result, residents in Khayelitsha’s informal settlements, and many others across the province, are at risk of contracting the virus due to their living conditions.  In his speech’s closing, one of Maynier’s rallying points to residents in the province is to play their part by wearing masks, sanitising regularly and social distancing.  However, how does social distancing look like for people whose daily lives are marked by overcrowding?  How does sanitising regularly look like for people who have severe water insecurity on a daily basis?

A meaningful plan to adequately prepare for a possible third wave should be one that also centralises the upgrading of informal settlements in order to protect some of the most vulnerable members of our province.

The goals for the budget are to support job creation, build safer communities and deliver well-being for communities in these uncertain times as the nation fights Covid-19.  The pandemic has deepened existing inequalities in South Africa; vulnerable populations such as people living in informal settlements and low income earning informal traders have been most affected by the loss of income.  It is disappointing that the Western Cape budget does not directly speak to providing a recovery plan for the informal business sector.  The private sector is not the sole contributor to economic growth and job creation. The informal sector acts as a safety net for the formal economy, this allows the unemployed to find work or start their own businesses, which boosts income and alleviates poverty.

The SJC notes that the R2.35 Billion has been allocated for ‘safety’ in the medium term on improving safety in the Western Cape.  The SJC welcomes this allocation as the recent crime statistics report showed an increase of 6.6 % in murders nationally and in particular, the Western Cape had an increase of 11.2% in murders and a 22.5% increase in attempted murder cases.  Furthermore, the Western Cape has seen a sharp increase in hijackings where car jacking’s increased by 14.9%, truck hijackings rose by 103% and cash-in-transit robberies increased by 166.7%.  This is alarming as the allocation of adequate police resources in high crime areas within the Western Cape was called for in the Khayelitsha Commission Inquiry and recommendations were made to this effect as far back as 2014.

The SJC cannot help but question whether the MEC’s budget allocation would seek to address claims over concerns over the latest crime statistics when communities such as Makhaza are still waiting for a police station to be built.  Working-class and poor black communities cannot be expected to report crimes and enjoy safety and security when there is no clear plan of action and allocation of adequate police resources.

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