'Red Ants' move residents out

2007-03-19 21:14

Johannesburg - Part of Harrison Street in Johannesburg came to a standstill on Monday as residents of an inner-city block were evicted.

Johannesburg central deputy sheriff James Calitz said the private eviction was under a High Court order granted in early December which gave residents until February 28 to leave the building.

As personal belongings and furniture piled up on the street, curious on-lookers watched from behind a barrier of "Red Ants" guards (so called because of their uniforms) contracted to help with the eviction.

Residents on balconies looked down, packed up apartments and milled among their belongings on the street.

The building's owner, Royal Navy Investments, applied for the eviction after rent had not been paid for a number of years, said an attorney for the owner.

Residents were 'surprised'

Tenants had been invited, through their lawyers, to regularise the occupancy but had declined, he said.

Many residents said they did not know the eviction would take place on Monday.

"We were surprised when we woke up this morning. We found the "Red Ants" all over the building," said one resident.

Calitz said each flat was served with a copy of the court order, but residents were not told of the exact date of the eviction after the court's date to vacate had passed.

Many residents had strong words for the government, saying they did not know where they would go.

An upset resident of 15 years said: "They want us to vote but where are they? They are drinking coffee in the office."

Calitz said it was the occupants' responsibility to move their belongings.

"From our side, it's basically to clear the building and secure it in accordance with the order."

Stuart Wilson, researcher at the Centre of Applied Legal Studies at Wits University, said private evictions differed to those by the city council.

Council should play a role

The city council could not clear buildings considered unsafe without providing alternative accommodation pending an appeal against a judgment handed down last year, he said.

While the eviction was private, he called on the municipality to play a role.

"The city should be doing more than directing traffic even if it's not under duty to provide an alternative.

"It should be ensuring that at least everybody knows when this is going to happen and have a reasonable time to move out."

Residents should have asked the court for temporary accommodation under the municipality's emergency housing policy, he said.

"People generally move into other blocks of flats and occupy other blocks illegally - they just create a squatting problem somewhere else."

Head of the Inner City Resource Centre Shereza Sibanda said residents had paid R400 000 in water and electricity since 1997.

The notice of motion to evict was first served in 2003.

"The 21st is Human Rights Day - which human rights are they talking about if they are going to throw people in the streets?"

- SAPA