Country South Africa Municipality City of Cape Town | Province Western Cape PO box 9323 | |
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Weather 18°C, Wind S at 40 km/h, 72% Humidity | ||
Joe Slovo is an informal settlement in Langa, Cape Town. Like many other informal settlements, it was named after former housing minister and Anti-Apartheid activist, Joe Slovo. With over 20,000 residents, Joe Slovo is one of the largest informal settlements in South Africa.
While residents have been fighting for 15 years for their right to live in Langa, the settlement recently fell into prominence when it began to oppose the national pilot housing project of Lindiwe Sisulu called The N2 Gateway.
Residents have opposed the government's request that they be forcibly removed to Delft, a new township on the outskirts of the city. After a High Court ruling by controversial judge John Hlophe in favor of the Government, many experts in constitutional law have claimed the ruling to be unjust and against the South African Constitution.
Since then, residents have appealed the decision and taken it to the South African Constitutional Court. In August 2008, about 200 Joe Slovo residents travelled by train, spent the night at the Methodist Church in Braamfontein, and arrived at the Constitutional Court to protest proposed evictions. They were accompanied in solidarity by the Anti-Eviction Campaign as well as residents from Symphony Way, an informal settlement that is also in conflict with the government over the N2 Gateway Housing Project.
The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions and the Community Law Centre from the University of Cape Town, who joined the case as friends of the court, argue that the mass relocation will significantly impact resident's quality of life.
During the case, constitutional court judges expressed concern over Judge John Hlophe's High Court ruling. Still, judgment has been reserved.