Cape Town - The invasion of the Nomzamo detention pond next to ACJ Phakade Primary School in Strand has stirred a debate between the City, opposition groups and academics on the impact land invasions and related socio-economic issues have on the environment in Cape Town.
Before being invaded during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the pond allowed the City to control the flow of water, which prevented flooding downstream in the area.
Now the City has criticised land occupiers constructing illegal structures on top of the filled-in detention pond and said the invasion was affecting the water quality and the City’s ability to do maintenance.
Water and Sanitation Mayco member Zahid Badroodien said: “Residents use the canal to get rid of their grey water, ablution and rubbish which affects the water quality and destroys any possible flow.
“As a result, the roads are under water, underground stormwater systems do not function as designed, and the school adjacent to the pond is prone to floods.”
A spokesperson for the ANC caucus in council, Judy-Ann Stevens, said: “We know land invasion in areas earmarked for detention ponds has a negative effect on the environment. It results in land degradation, water and air pollution, but we need to find a balance between the need of our people and environmental degradation.”
She said the people who had invaded the land in 2019/2020 were backyard dwellers, but moved to the pond because of unemployment as they could no longer afford the rent.
Human Settlements Mayco member Malusi Booi said: “This site is an indication of the impact of unlawful occupations which in the metro over the past year have happened on land not viable for human habitation.”
Badroodien added that there were plans to rehabilitate the pond, however, it was dependent on the relocation of those who illegally occupied it, which the City was looking into.
Stevens, GOOD Party’s general secretary Brett Herron and senior lecturer from Stellenbosch University’s Department of Global Health Jo Barnes believed this predicament all went back to the planning of appropriate housing and suitable protection for water management systems across the metro.
Barnes said the damage wrought by invaders and the slow but massive damage to the water system and the health of the environment would be much higher over time than the cost of better safety features for water management systems, such as detention ponds
Banes added that the performance of housing policies by present government (and past promises to the underprivileged portion of the population) needed a drastic overhaul in order to house the urban poor.
In agreement, Herron said the occupation of land, including stormwater detention ponds was a direct consequence of a failed housing programme.
“Protection of our natural resources, water courses and environment is critical for the sustainability of human life. This is a matter of generational justice.
“However, there is a duty on our city's government to understand that our city's rapid urbanisation is not unique to us. It is a phenomenon in developing-world cities around the globe,” Herron said.
