De Lille – ‘Sisulu does not have the authority to remove names from housing waiting lists’
13-09-2007, 13H30, ID President Patricia de Lille says Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu’s granting of authority to her department to remove the names of Langa’s Joe Slovo residents involved in protest action from housing waiting lists ‘is an abuse of her power and is unconstitutional.
‘The Minister does not have the authority to instruct her department to
remove anyone from a housing waiting list. Neither does she have the
authority to threaten to do so.
‘These kinds of strong arm tactics serve only to alienate the poor. Those Joe Slovo residents who broke laws must be dealt with in terms of the specific laws they have broken.
‘In Joe Slovo Informal Settlement we are dealing with a community that is suffering with bread and butter issues on a day-to-day basis and government must at all times be sensitive to their needs,’ De Lille says.
‘Every act of government needs the support of the people. It is only through this kind of people-centred development that South Africa will be able to continue to move forward peacefully,’ says Ms De Lille.
‘To label as troublemakers any community that stands up for its constitutional rights is to avoid taking responsibility for our actions and will ultimately lead to increasing discontent.
Now, in an effort ‘to find clarity on this issue’, President De Lille has submitted two questions for written reply to Sisulu.
These are the two questions:
National Assembly
Question for written reply
Date Submitted: 11 September 2007
Ms. Patricia de Lille MP (ID) to ask the minister of Housing
1) With reference to the article printed in The Star newspaper, 11 September 2007, can the Minister confirm or deny that she stated that she is planning to remove the names of those residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement identified as partaking in protest action from the Housing list; if so (a) with what jurisdiction is this removal justified (ii) what criteria will be used to identify those protestors who are to be removed from the list?
2) What is the stance of the Department of Housing on the recent protest action in Joe Slovo settlement and what measures are in place to address the grievances fueling the protest action?
‘These kinds of strong arm tactics serve only to alienate the poor. Those Joe Slovo residents who broke laws must be dealt with in terms of the specific laws they have broken.
‘In Joe Slovo Informal Settlement we are dealing with a community that is suffering with bread and butter issues on a day-to-day basis and government must at all times be sensitive to their needs,’ De Lille says.
‘Every act of government needs the support of the people. It is only through this kind of people-centred development that South Africa will be able to continue to move forward peacefully,’ says Ms De Lille.
‘To label as troublemakers any community that stands up for its constitutional rights is to avoid taking responsibility for our actions and will ultimately lead to increasing discontent.
Now, in an effort ‘to find clarity on this issue’, President De Lille has submitted two questions for written reply to Sisulu.
These are the two questions:
National Assembly
Question for written reply
Date Submitted: 11 September 2007
Ms. Patricia de Lille MP (ID) to ask the minister of Housing
1) With reference to the article printed in The Star newspaper, 11 September 2007, can the Minister confirm or deny that she stated that she is planning to remove the names of those residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement identified as partaking in protest action from the Housing list; if so (a) with what jurisdiction is this removal justified (ii) what criteria will be used to identify those protestors who are to be removed from the list?
2) What is the stance of the Department of Housing on the recent protest action in Joe Slovo settlement and what measures are in place to address the grievances fueling the protest action?
