Cato Crest: DA call for Commission of Inquiry

THE Democratic Alliance will today write to KZN Premier Senzo Mchunu to request a Commission of Inquiry into all housing delivery matters within Durban's Cato Crest informal settlement including ongoing allegations of unlawful evictions, illegal contractors, unfair allocations and other corruption-based activity. 

The request comes after the fatal shooting of a teenage girl during a violent protest at the informal settlement earlier this week after a stand-off between police officers and protesters.

Events at Cato Crest have gone beyond the control of both the eThekwini municipality and Metro police and the Premier must intervene if further unrest and death is to be prevented.

The situation at Cato Crest is the result of the total collapse of the municipality's housing department. The DA in eThekwini has previously submitted two Notices of Motion to Council, calling for a new and transparent housing allocations policy.

We have also requested numerous investigations into the many allegations of dodgy housing allocations within this informal settlement and have marched to City Hall to call on eThekwini's mayor to answer for the city's illegal evictions.

To date, our requests have fallen on deaf ears.

The DA calls on the Premier to urgently launch a Commission of Inquiry. He must also work with KZN Human Settlements MEC, Ravi Pillay in a bid to address eThekwini's dire housing shortage - which must be funded by the province - and keep communities properly informed on the highly sensitive issue of housing delivery.

Statement issued by George Mari, MPP, DA KZN Spokesperson on Human Settlement, October 2 2013

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