Cape Town - President Jacob Zuma's State of the Nation address (SONA) on Thursday evening meant little to Marikana, Khayelitsha, residents in Site B.
In fact it was a reminder of empty promises. Four years ago their homes were razed in a blaze which killed five people.
The fire destroyed 220 shacks and 15 houses. Fresh from his 2013 SONA, Zuma visited the survivors of the inferno at the OR Tambo community hall where they were temporarily housed.
Residents said Zuma had assured the scores of fire victims he understood “government proceedings are slow” but he promised to keep an eye on the progress in rehousing them.
“I’m counting down the two months as from today,” said Zuma at the time, a reference to a two-month deadline the city had set itself to complete the rehousing process.
Zuma had been accompanied by then-human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille.
Thembisile Qhwayi, a father of six, said his family squeeze into a single-room shack.
“To me, the SONA means nothing. When he (Zuma) came here in 2013, he had just come from a SONA and made promises. We have not heard anything from the president since.”
Residents who were temporarily housed in Marikana in Khayelitsha were told by President Jacob Zuma in 2013 that they would be relocated, but they are still there. Picture: Ayanda Ndamane
Qhwayi said the president and the city had committed to a deadline, which was not met, and they had not received an explanation for this or any feedback.
Wilson Meleni, who lives with his wife and eight children, said: “The city is a big liar. They set the deadline, and the president just made assurances, which weren’t kept.”
Vivian Madondile, a mother of six, said things had changed for the worse “and they’ve been getting a lot worse as the years go by”. She said the temporary structures had been overcrowded by several big families.
Anda Ntsondo, eastern suburbs mini-mayor, said the City of Cape Town’s commitment to help fire-affected residents “had, for years, been repeatedly thwarted". He said the city had finished the installation and servicing of the sites for the beneficiaries in February 2014, but strikes had thwarted the plans.
“In 2015, a difficult decision was made to halt the planned Bosasa housing development due to the continuous violent protests and vandalism of the serviced sites.
“The project aimed to build 1006 units in Mfuleni, but the Mfuleni community had repeatedly threatened to protest unless the development stopped,” Ntsodo said. He said the City had engaged Mfuleni residents but could not reach agreement. The Presidency did not respond to a request for comment.