Ghost Town informal settlement welcomes Salt River families amid service upgrades

With plans under way to relocate 60 families from Salt River to the Ghost Town informal settlement at Gate 1 of the Maitland Cemetery, families in the settlement living in close proximity to the graves say they welcome the move, as it would create access to basic services such as electricity, ablution facilities and proper running water.

The City plans to expand the informal settlement, which has existed for many years, with the relocation of the families from Salt River.

Mayco member for Human Settlements, Carl Pophaim, confirmed an "upgrade" would be taking place at the site, which would include relocation opportunities and formalised basic services.

He said the project would ensure a safe and well managed settlement.

Geraldine Josias, a committee member in Ghost Town, said at first they were against the move, but the upgrade would rescue them from dire living conditions. 

She has made the informal settlement her home for the past 17 years.

Often she and her family relocated and moved their shack as the grave space grew inside the cemetery.

“Ghost Town was a squatter camp that originated out of families having nowhere to go, finding each other and growing as a community  and eventually into a family,” she said.

“We as the Ghost Town community were also not happy about Salt River people coming here but we saw it as an opportunity for us to grow and a better life for ourselves.

“We face many challenges on a daily basis, but ever since the committee was established by our councillor, we have been tackling these issues head-on. Basic services have been ignored for years and we are truly frustrated because of our living conditions.

“I, myself, came to stay here about 17 years ago when we were relocated from being backyard dwellers. When City Parks needed the space to use it for burial purposes, we were relocated. Here we have to make use of an outside toilet because we still have the bucket system and also running water, we only have two taps for over 38 families. Our people don't even have electricity and as you can see in the pictures and videos this is how our current living conditions are.

“But what they do is to judge us as criminals so whoever has a problem with our Ghost Town housing project must think twice because we are all human beings that have the right to a better life.”

The Ken-Fac Residents and Ratepayers Association have expressed their objections to the move by the City's Human Settlements department, saying they were not consulted about the process.

They argue it would add pressure on services and increase the population, and have demanded from the City: An immediate halt to all relocations into the area until proper community engagement and participatory planning is undertaken; a formal meeting with City leadership; and no informal settlements along the critical arterial Voortrekker Road.

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