Backyarder's a huge problem in Westlake

Backyarder's a huge problem in Westlake

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“There must be around 1300 people living in the backyards of homes in Westlake, which is a huge problem,” said James Mcgregor, a trustee and member of the management committee of the Westlake United Church Trust(WUCT).

According to Mr Mcgregor, the infrastructure of the residential development, which was a joint venture between John Rabie Property Developers and the government, caters for 2000 residents only and so the 1300 extra residents is quickly approaching double that  figure.

Mr Mcgregor said that things are reaching a tipping point with regard to basic services, pointing out that all these people need water, electricity, ablution facilities, health facilities and waste removal. Removal of waste is a big problem with rubbish being dumped on the streets and in the water systems, causing pollution, health problems and an eye sore; not to mention a big stink. 

“In the beginning of this project I said that a policy about backyarders needed to be developed and implemented right from the word go,” Mr Mcgregor said, “but as yet there is no policy governing this practice of renting pieces of ones yard to tenants.”

Mr Mcgregor also pointed out that the problem of overcrowding was in part to be blamed on the poor implementation of the housing policy governing the allocation of the RDP houses. “Houses were given to people who could not afford to pay for them, either because they did not have jobs or were unable to work.  So they could not pay for the basic services of water, electricity and waste removal,” Mr Mcgregor said, adding that many of those people sold their homes, spent the money and are now one of the backyarders, are back living in the bush or are renting out shacks on their property to make a living from.

According to a statement by the Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Patricia De Lille, the City of Cape Town is well aware of the problem and is doing their best to address the situation, including the rollout of a pilot project to provide backyard households in Council-owned properties with basic services like electricity, water and refuse collection.

The pilot project is not meant as a long term solution but just as a temporary measure while the City tries to meet the high demand of people waiting to get a house in line with the City’s Housing Database and Housing Allocation Policy.

“We have fitted 189 prepaid electricity meters enabling these households in Factreton to access and manage their consumption of electricity and water. In addition, we have built 83 enclosed precast toilets connected to the main sewer system next to their structures, including a standpipe for fresh water supply, and supplied a further 135 refuse bins,” Ms De Lille said, adding that they are hoping to emulate the project in other parts of the city, so that more people would be able to have access to the City’s indigent grant of 200 litres of free water a day and the 50 kilowatt hours of free electricity per month.

However, while the City tries to fulfill their promises of building a more “Caring City,” residents of the Westlake community are up in arms about what they are saying is corruption. 

“When we, the people of the bush, were first told about the RDP housing project here in Westlake, we were told that 750 houses would be built for us to stay in,” said Patrick Heyns, who is a member on the board of the Westlake Residents Association. “But when we counted, only 500 houses were built. Where are the other 250 houses and what happened to the land that was allocated for those houses to be built on?” he asked

According to Mr Heyns, many of those people staying in the backyards of residents of Westlake were meant to get houses but never did and the issue with the large number of backyarders was just the end result.

In response to Mr Heyns’ claims, Councilor Tandeka Gqada, Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlement, said that according to the Land Availability Agreement that was signed for the Westlake development, the developer, John Rabie, had to provide housing for all the registered households who had previously lived in the informal settlement as well as those residents, who had leases with the Department of Public Works, staying in the brick houses. 

“The then South Peninsula Municipality(SPM) undertook a survey of the main families staying in the area and drew up a list of those people eligible for the housing grant and then those candidates who qualified were given a house,” Ms Gqada said, adding that approved specifications for the houses included semi-detached and free standing houses.

John Rabie Property Developers, who were not available for comment, also sold a parcel of the land to Constantia Uitsig and Klein Constantia wine farms. Klein Constantia built houses on these plots for their workers but Constantia Uitsig recently sold their parcel of land to a private developer, Nieuwe Steenberg Co, who have built six inclusionary homes on the plot.

Although Nieuwe Steenberg Co have said that these houses would increase the value of the properties in the area, Mr Mcgregor said that it might have been better to built 20 RDP houses as opposed to the six middle-class homes. Notwithstanding that assertion, Mr Mcgregor said, “The overcrowding and social ills like crime and drug addiction associated with overcrowding will only get worse unless a policy is drawn up to govern this trend of backyarders.” 

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Wetlands given a hands up

Wetlands given a hands up

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“Dumping and littering doesn’t just spoil the beauty of the wetland but kills life and puts people at risk, especially children,” said Sara Best(25), an Environmental Manager with NCC Environmental Services.

Ms Best was speaking to The Constantiaberg Bulletin at a community event organized by NCC to clean the wetland up. Responding to their public invitation, 29 locals, including children, members of the US consulate, students and employees of NCC turned up on Thursday May 23, to lend a helping hand. 

According to Ms Best, the wetland is vital to the community because it cleans the water and provides a natural home to a diverse assortment of fauna and flora. When too much dumping and littering occurs in a wetland, the waterways are clogged up and water contamination and E coli can become a real threat to people, plants and animal life. 

“A Pollsmoor Prison employee recently made an anonymous phone call, complaining that she was not able to drive across the stream that runs through the wetland and the Pollsmoor property because it was blocked to overflowing by dirty nappies and other rubbish,” Ms Best said. “Around the same time I saw kids from the community playing in the park. It might seem like innocent fun but these kids could become seriously ill.”

According to her, each household in the community has one rubbish bin but because many people live in the backyards of these homes, the one dustbin becomes inadequate. People then just dump their garbage instead of paying or making another plan to have it removed.

Mr Jim Emery(48), the Facility Manager of the US Consulate, said that he and his two colleagues had responded to the invitation to volunteer because they wanted to help improve the neighbourhood. “The consulate overlooks the wetland so we can see how it is getting spoilt. A few endangered leopard frogs also live in the park, so it’s vital that we keep the wetland pollution free,” he said. 

This is the third time this year that NCC have organized a community clean-up of the wetland. After having been the Environmental Control Officers on duty while the boardwalk across the park was being built, Ms Best said NCC decided to focus most of their Corporate Social Investment(CSI) efforts in 2013 on cleaning and protecting the Westlake wetlands.

“Our hope is to educate and inspire the local community to take ownership of the wetlands themselves,” said Linda Mare(31) of NCC, “and a big strategy of ours is to hold talks with learners at the local schools. If they know what a wetland is, how important it is, what insects, birds, animals and plants live there then perhaps they would realize how damaging it is to throw their sweet papers or cans on the ground.”

A young man who knows just how damaging littering can be is a learner from Westlake Primary, Thanda Goqo(12). When he and three of his friends, Breyton Aarendse(12), Deswill Malgas(13), both of Westlake Primary and Jose Steyn(13) of Constantia Primary saw people cleaning the protected area up, they immediately volunteered their services.

“When other kids throw their rubbish down I tell them it is unhealthy and that they need to pick it up for their own good and the good of others,” the young Mr Goqo explained.

Ms Best added that other than the reaching out to the youth in the area, they were hoping to find someone in the community who would be willing to start a recycling scheme. “That person could start small, making money by collecting cans, glass and paper; but it would eventually grow into something much bigger,” she explained.

The City of Cape Town had also made an effort to protect the wetland from being polluted by erecting fences all along the boardwalk and around its boundary. These efforts have been hampered by panels of the fence being broken, giving people access to dump their garbage, or stolen to be sold for scrap metal.

On the day of the clean-up, other than general littering, mounds of building rubble lay in heaps all over the wetland as well as household items like a whole carpet. According to Ms Best, the City of Cape Town has been very good in coming alongside the community to help protect their wetland. “At the time of the last clean-up, 10 fence panels were missing or broken, but thankfully Talcott Persent of the City of Cape Town made an effort to replace or fix them,” Ms Best said, pointing out that one or two panels were already missing or broken. 

NCC is planning to do another two or three clean-ups this year. Those members of the public or businesses in the area who would like to get involved can contact Ms Best via e-mail: sarab@ncc-group.co.za 

Words and images by freelance writer and photographer Clinton Wittstock

Article appeared in the Constantiaberg Bulletin

Thursday May 30 2013

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Changing the world two wheels at a time

Changing the world two wheels at a time

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“How can you expect a man who stays in a shack and wakes up everyday with rubbish on his doorstep, to care enough to even want to listen to someone speaking about the global problems we are facing?” Meshack Nchupetsang, the owner of Eyethu Cycle Shop asks.

In 2002 the answer to that question, triggered by adversity, came to Nchupetsang. A  downturn in the economy meant that he was retrenched, loosing his job as a Logistics Manager. At that same time he met up with people from The Bicycling Empowerment Network(BEN).

“You need to be able to build a bridge of communication with a person before you can begin chatting to him about the rubbish on his doorstep,” Mr Nchupetsang said. “When I heard about BEN, things just clicked; I knew then that bicycles would be the bridge for me into the Westlake and broader community.”

BEN is a non-profit organization whose main aim is to address poverty and mobility through the promotion of the humble bicycle. The organization collects donated used and low cost bicycles from China and European countries, like Britain, Germany and Holland and then distributes them to the people of low-income areas through the set up of Bicycle Empowerment Centers(BEC).

BEC’s are simply containerized workshops that are stocked with these bikes and tools needed for bicycle repairs and maintenance. A local person, preferably from a previously disadvantaged sector, is then given all the training and support needed to run the BEC as a business as well as being trained to service and repair all types of bicycles.

“I have always wanted to have a business like this; that has a global impact, that touches on fundamental issues like saving money, mobility, decreasing the carbon footprint and empowering people, both socially and economically,” Mr Nchupetsang said. “I pay for the shipping costs and import taxes of the bicycles, service them in my container and then sell bikes as good as new to clients for much reduced rates.”

“I recently sold a landmark 3000th bike,” Mr Nchupetsang said proudly, adding that 2500 of those were to residents in the Westlake area. Mr Nchupetsang, himself an avid cyclist, said that before he started his business he conducted a survey of the Westlake area and found that less than 0,5% of the population were using bicycles. Now, just 11 years later, according to Mr Nchupetsang, more than 87% of residents use bicycles to get to work or school, to go down to the shop to buy electricity or groceries and for sport and recreation.

Mr Nchupetsang reckons that, although most of his customers are elderly people and young people just starting off in life, he has seen a dramatic increase of learners beginning to commute to school on pedal power. “There was a time when it would just be me cycling with my children to school, but now there are many students riding to school everyday,” he said, adding that he is a firm believer in advocating the use of safety clothing, like helmets, and adhering to the road safety rules.

A constant source of joy for Mr Nchupetsang is knowing that his business is changing the lives of people in his community for the better. According to him, cycling is an accessible and cheap form of transport, is eco friendly and it is fun and promotes a healthy lifestyle.   

“I can put someone on the road for R400,00,” he said, adding that he also offers a 3 month lay-by option to help people own a bicycle.

Sometimes however, people are just too poor to pay for a bicycle or for repairs. Martin(he is known only as Martin), suffers from TB. He has been too sickly to hold down a permanent job and so has serious financial problems. “He brought his bicycle to me, it was in a terrible condition, just about unridable, and he asked me to fix it but said he had no money to pay for the repairs,” Mr Nchupetsang said. “So I agreed to fix it if he would come and help me clean up the yard at my business and home. His bicycle is as good as new now and he is getting better because he is able to get around and get some exercise. I am also teaching Martin to service his own bike,” Mr Nchupetsang explained, adding that he enjoys Martin’s company and that Martin is a very funny guy.

It is not just locally that Mr Nchupetsang has been able to be of a help to people. In 2005 he was fortunate enough to travel across South Africa with the National Department of Transport(NDT). “The NDT bought bicycles and then we went to the Eastern Cape and gave them to people in old age homes and to home based carers. These carers, mostly woman, would have to walk far distances to attend to their patients but now they can get to them much quicker and therefore see more patients in a day,” Mr Nchupetsang said, adding that the recipients of the bicycles also got basic bicycle safety and maintenance training.

Looking forward, Mr Nchupetsang is hoping to expand his business so that he can give locals an opportunity to work. “I would love to empower and train people to fix bicycles and to manage a bicycle shop, especially women,” Mr Nchupetsang said.

For more information about BEC’s, contact Mr Nchupetsang via e-mail: meshack.nchupetsang@gmail.com

Words and images by Clinton Wittstock, Freelance writer and photographer

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Game of golf just what the doctor ordered

Game of golf just what the doctor ordered.

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Dr Alf Husband, a retired Orthopedic Surgeon, picked up a golf club for the first time in 1956 while still in Rhodesia. “I have many fond memories of playing golf. Many amusing incidents have occured on golf courses since then,” said Dr Husband. 

“I was once invited to play golf with three other guys in Plettenberg Bay. One of the players was Mr McDonald, who had just retired from being the Chief Justice of Rhodesia,” Dr Husband said. “The other three guys used their drivers on the fairway and did well, so I followed suit. I hit the ball and it screamed through the air, heading straight towards Mr McDonald’s caddy. The caddy got a fright and lifted up Mr McDonalds new leather bag. The ball hit the bag, cut through it and fell into the bag!” Dr Husband exclaimed. “He was not impressed, he had just been given the bag by the side bar as a retirement present. He was even less impressed when I offered him a Friend of Rhodesia sticker to put over the hole.”

On another occasion the Doctor teed off and his ball hit the ladies teeing off marker. The ball ended up behind him, which he and his playing partners found very comical.

Dr Husband said that when he moved to Cape Town to specialize as an Orthopedic Surgeon, he went through a period of time when he was not able to play golf due to time constraints. In 1983, however, he became a member of the Westlake Golf and Country Club and he has been playing golf more regularly since then.   

“Golf is a player friendly game,” the Doctor answered when asked how he is still able to play golf at 87, “because one plays off a handicap, which evens things out,” adding that he now plays off a 36 handicap, the maximum allowed. “Golf has certainly kept me fit too, even though I now have to use a golf cart because of arthritis in my knee.”

“It is not just the golf that keeps me playing though,” Dr Husband said, “it is the people; golfers are a friendly crowd,” adding that he thinks that the Westlake Golf and Country Club is the friendliest in the Cape, if not the country.

“The older one gets, the more friends one looses, so the more one needs to make new friends,” Dr Husband said, “but the older one gets the more difficult it becomes to meet people, especially like-minded people. Golf clubs are therefore great places to meet and make new friends.”

At the height of his golfing prowess, Dr Husband was playing off a 16 handicap. It took him   54 years to hit his first hole in one though. “The funny thing is that I didn’t even see it happen,” Dr Husband said, “I saw it land on the green and then it disappeared from sight, I did not see it roll into the hole.”

Dr Husband said it felt great to hit the hole in one. “By the time I got back to the club house, a certificate to commemorate my hole in one was waiting for me. My friend who I was playing with, who has since passed away, had phoned the club house from the golf course and arranged things. Thankfully my insurance payed for the round of drinks, there must have been more than 50 people there that day.”

Over the years, Dr Husband has had interests other than golf. Rugby was a major hobby for him. “I spent 12 years on the Rugby Injuries Panel for Newlands. I was involved in attending to injured players and gave lectures to referees and coaches about player management with specific regard to injuries,” Dr Husband said, adding that he enjoyed meeting people like Nick Mallet, Steve Hillock and other Springboks and Western Province players. 

Dr Husband plays two or three rounds of golf a week, weather depending. Other than that he enjoys spending time with his wife, likes to read books, especially history books and novels and is currently writing his memoirs.

For young people who are thinking about playing golf, Dr Husband has the following advise: “See a good pro to get you started off in the right direction and then just relax and enjoy it.”

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Hope blooms despite flooded land

Hope blooms despite flooded land.
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The recent rains wreaked havoc on the Masivuke Organic Food Garden Group in Westlake, flooding their garden and washing their seeds away. This group of nine ladies, and one man, however, know how to persevere through hardships.

“We arrived at our garden and saw that the drain in the road outside of our property had been blocked up and was overflowing into our garden,” said Linah Jokazi, a shareholder and spokesperson for the group of organic farmers, “and that our seeds had all been washed onto the neighbouring sports field.”

Ms Jokazi said the group immediately encouraged themselves and collected money from between themselves. “We gave the money to our Group Manager, Anthea Thebus, and she kindly went to buy us more seeds,” she explained, adding that the loss was very costly as they only earn a R50 stipend per day. “Thankfully the city have come to fix the drain which shows they care,” Ms Jokazi added.

The Masivuke Organic Food Garden Group was established in 2009 and is one of the projects begun by The Westlake United Church Trust(WUCT), whose mission it is to uplift and empower the residents of Westlake Village to become a self-sustaining and thriving community through education, skills development, youth development, job creation programs and home based care.  

“We sell our crops to a local restaurant, the Westlake community, we supply Ithemba, a local HIV/AIDS support group and we eat of it ourselves,” Ms Jokazi said. “We have a kitchen set up in a container where we want to cook food for ourselves while we work as well as being able to start a soup kitchen but we have no electricity,” Ms Jokazi said. “We have been battling for four years now to get electricity but because we don’t have a lease for the land they wont give us electricity.”

According to Ms Jokazi, Dave Barnes of the WUCT has been working hard at trying to get a lease for the land but up until now has not been successful. As a temporary and less than ideal solution, Joyce Sishuba, one of the ladies in the group, runs a power lead from her home across the road to the container kitchen. “We work out how much power we use and then we all pay our share of that,” Ms Sishuba explained.

The group face similar problems with their water supply. “We have a water tank but we have to phone a company to come and fill it up when it is empty and that works out to be pretty expensive,” Ms Jokazi explained.  

According to the group the soil that they are farming with is also less than ideal. They are hoping to turn enough profits as soon as possible to be able to buy compost, which they say will help them to produce healthier and more crops. They are also in desperate need of more tools.

“Yes, we have faced many hardships working here, but things can only get better,” said Cynthia Tshangela, adding, “this project has given me hope, before I began working here I was unemployed for four years.”

Makoetje Motseki, the man of the group, said he loved coming to work. “The ladies work very hard and I respect them for that and they always make sure that I am looked after,” Mr Motseki said.

For more information, contact Anthea Thebus at 0217021697 

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