Battle over planned squatter camp in Pretoria

The Freedom Front Plus is siding with communities in Pretoria over their concerns about a planned squatter camp in their neighbourhood.

It said the communities of Gezina and Capital Park are concerned that their neighbourhoods would become crime-infested.

Their concerns followed a plan by the Tshwane Metro Council to relocate the Melgisedek Centre squatters to a temporary tent town in Capital Park.

Last week, the Court of Appeal rejected an application by Lawyers for Human Rights to stop the relocation.

“The judgment, and the Metro Council’s response to it, marks a setback for vulnerable residents’ rights,” the Freedon Front Plus said.

It also paved the way for the Tshwane Metro to adopt a harsh approach that will be detrimental to Melgisedek residents and could destroy Capital Park’s character.

“Unsafe buildings need to be made secure, but it should never be at the expense of human dignity,” the Freedom Front Plus said.

“The Metro’s promise of safe and dignified temporary accommodation sounds hollow given its track record of similar processes in Tshwane.”

The party is engaging with developers who are prepared to develop alternative accommodation for Melgisedek residents in the city centre.

However, the city’s ANC, EFF, and ActionSA coalition has rejected the proposed solutions and insists on relocating them to a tent camp in the Moot.

“This is obstinate and malicious, while offering no real solution to the problem. The Metro administration’s callous conduct will be to everybody’s detriment,” it said.

The Freedom Front Plus demanded that no evictions take place before sufficient, dignified, and permanent alternative housing has been secured.

“The process should not be misused to score cheap political points, but to actually serve residents’ interests,” it said.

Melgisedek Centre photos