Stellenbosch Municipality’s plans for the relocation of the Meerlust Bosbou Plakkerskamp community are underway. This informal settlement is set to be moved to a different location by 31 March, as per a court order issued to the municipality.
This is according to Stuart Grobbelaar, communications manager at Stellenbosch Municipality, via email correspondence with MatieMedia. The matter of this relocation has been ongoing for five years and the final court order was issued on 17 September 2021, said Grobbelaar. The settlement was established around 1990, according to a settlement profile by the Western Cape Government.
Meerlust Bosbou Plakkerskamp is currently located alongside the R45, Simondium Road, just across the road from Meerlust Bosbou. This is according to a Western Cape Government municipal profile, which assessed different informal settlements in the Stellenbosch area.
The Meerlust Bosbou informal settlement, also known as Meerlust Bosbou Plakkerskamp is located alongside the R45, Simondium Road, according to a settlement profile by the Western Cape Government. Some residents of Meerlust Bosbou Plakkerskamp have lived the majority of their lives in the informal settlement. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Planned relocation to Meerlust Bosbou
Officials of the Stellenbosch Municipality conducted a site inspection on 7 March on the Meerlust Bosbou property “to determine where the most suitable position would be to relocate the families” of the informal settlement, stated Grobbelaar.
While the residents of the informal settlement were aware of the plans for their relocation, many were not aware that the municipality would conduct a site inspection on 7 March, claimed Kaylynn Isaacs, a resident of Meerlust Bosbou Plakkerskamp. Isaacs also said that the relocation plans have “been coming for a long time”.
The Meerlust Bosbou community felt that the relocation of the informal settlement residents to Meerlust Bosbou would result in a more unsafe neighbourhood, says Louis Conradie, a Meerlust Bosbou resident and chairperson of the Groot Drakenstein housing forum.
The entrance to Meerlust Bosbou is also found along the R45, Simondium Road. Meerlust Bosbou falls under the Stellenbosch Municipality. PHOTO: Joel Ontong
Unhappiness continues
In response to the municipality’s site inspection on 7 March, Meerlust Bosbou residents called the department of public works and infrastructure (DPWI) to Meerlust Bosbou, says Conradie. Meerlust Bosbou residents were unhappy with the municipality’s visit and wanted to halt the proceedings, according to Conradie.
The community therefore called the DPWI and the DPWI received a notification that a land invasion is taking place on the Meerlust Bosbou property, according to Thami Mchunu, who is responsible for media and stakeholder relations at the DPWI.
When the DPWI arrived in Meerlust Bosbou, “it was established that there was no land invasion taking place on the property”, said Mchunu.
“The municipality is committed to ensuring the safe relocation of these families, as per the court order,” says Grobbelaar.
The informal settlement is currently located on private property. MatieMedia contacted the owner of the private property where the informal settlement is located. They referred MatieMedia to their lawyer, who could only confirm the planned relocation.
Meerlust Bosbou Plakkerskamp was established around 1990, according to a settlement profile by the Western Cape Government. Multiple residents expressed their unhappiness and dissatisfaction with the planned relocation. Some residents stated that they view the informal settlement as their home. PHOTO: Joel Ontong