SPEECH BY EXECUTIVE MAYOR PATRICIA DE LILLE: AT THE HANDOVER OF 60 LETTERS OF COMMITMENT TO RESIDENTS CURRENTLY OCCUPYING THE CITY OF CAPE TOWN'S PROPERTIES IN HANGBERG, June 14 2011

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen.

We are here today as part of the process of making peace in Hangberg. This is an historic occasion for the people of Hangberg especially, but also for all the people of Cape Town.

We have invited all stakeholders in the mediation process here to take the next step forward, together.

In September last year, relations between the people of Hangberg and the City broke down, unfortunately ending in violence.

In the months since, the people of Hangberg and the City of Cape Town have been engaged in a constructive process to resolve our issues.

That process has been ably facilitated by Brian Williams, a mediator appointed by the City after engagement with all stakeholders, who is helping us build a new relationship of constructive engagement with the Hangberg community.

We can only ever move forward as a united city if we engage each other openly, honestly and fairly.

In the case of Hangberg, that engagement has taken time and is not yet complete.

However, I believe that we have made positive strides in working towards our goal of inclusive collaboration.

The first step in that process was the establishment of the Hangberg Community Peace and Mediation Forum (HCPMF).

With its establishment, and after intense and transparent consultations, the people of Hangberg chose their representatives.

Those representatives have communicated the community's wishes to the City and have been our partners in this process.

With the HCPMF, numerous projects for the improvement of Hangberg were identified as markers for the mediation process.

These include: the maintenance of the flats and row houses; the transfer of row houses; the development of new community residential units; the upgrade of the informal settlement; and the greater roll-out of service delivery.

These projects are proceeding as planned, with the participation of the community and the HPMF. I am pleased that as a direct result of the mediation process the City is now able to provide services in these priority areas to the people of Hangberg.

We are here today to mark the progress of one particular project: the transfer of 60 row houses that are currently owned by the City to eventual ownership by their long-standing tenants.

The row houses were built by the City in 1965 and not with ownership as the end goal in mind. The City and the HCPMF have agreed that it is now time for the community to take ownership. As such, it is taking time to complete the necessary work that preparing them for full ownership entails.

As our work with the HCPMF has shown us, the tenants of these row houses have been living in these houses for decades, either personally or their families.

Given the deep sense of community in Hangberg and its rich history and traditions, these houses have become as much a part of the community as the people.

As part of the mediation process, we have already completed some of the work that will allow us to transfer ownership to the tenants.

The Land Surveyor has completed the subdivision diagrams for the individual units.

Those subdivisions now have to be workshopped with the City Departments responsible for services so that we can ensure that the units receive the best service delivery.

The subdivisions must also be duly agreed to by the tenants themselves so that we have complete engagement on the process.

Once these processes are complete, as well as the proper legal processes, the official transfers of ownership will take place.

As a show of the City's commitment to the mediation effort, we are reaffirming this process by committing to the duly identified residents that the transfer of ownership will happen.

The letters being distributed to residents today acknowledge how far we have come and the destination we are heading to.

The letters are a symbol of our full engagement of trust with the community.

The letters say that the City will give ownership to each tenant.

This is the latest positive development in our mediation efforts.

This administration is committed to an open system of full engagement to build an inclusive city that unites everyone.

The people of Hangberg are an integral part of our metro and we are proud of our work with the HCPMF to take our relationship forward to rebuild our trust and respect for one another.

These letters are a demonstration of that.

Issued by the Communication Department, City of Cape Town, June 14 2011

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter