Lindelani informal settlement residents are calling on government to relocate them from where they are to a better place.
The Lindelani informal settlement has been in existence since 1987 but people are still in shacks.
The residents said they have been left destitute to suffer from crime and diseases in the area.
On Wednesday March 20, residents and their children picketed outside the area, near Boxer Supermarket, demanding houses or serviced plots.
They accused their leaders of favouritism in the allocation of new homes.
Local committee chairperson Vuyisa August said dirt, crime and drugs are the biggest problems faced by residents in the area.
He claimed that since 1987 leaders have been biased in allocating houses at their expense and they are always left behind to struggle in their makeshift surroundings.
He added that the dense area has no space for their children to play.
“Enough is enough. We also need better houses or serviced plots. We have children who grew up here and today are parents too. These shops around us are a problem too. There are big trucks that suffocate us. Our children have no place to play because you cannot have recreational facilities here,” he told Vukani.
Mr August claimed that crime and drugs are also a challenge.
He said skollies from other areas hide themselves there. “
We need to be relocated with immediate effect. This is not a place to raise children. This is a place where skollies hide themselves. We are sick and tired.”
Another resident, Nombulelo Nguta said the community have tried to engage all stakeholders in Khayelitsha but nothing has happened.
She said she has been living in the informal settlement for all her years, yet no progress has been made to address their challenges.
“This is just not on. There are people in the same area that are going to be moved because we are told there’s a MyCiTi route where they are. We do not accept that. We all need to be moved or given serviced sites,” she said.
Nandipha Masalaze said the area is so dense one cannot even open the door.
She described living there as “life-threatening”.
However, Ward 91 councillor Thando Mprngesi denied that there are certain people who are going to be moved.
He said there is a plea to people close to the hospital to move because ambulances cannot manoeuvre their way out.
“This is all lies. No one is being relocated. But we are asking those who are closer to the hospital to give way because ambulances are really struggling to make their way.
“I cannot lie to say we will move them soon or there are serviced plots for them. I don’t want to say what people would like to hear, but to be honest with them. We all know we have a land problem,” he said.