City ‘regrets’ eviction of families in Lorraine

By Dineo Matomela

A NELSON Mandela Bay council spokesman said yesterday he regretted the eviction of more than 30 families from the Madiba Village in Lorraine on Tuesday.

He also blamed Seaview councillor Jeremy Davis for the delay in the construction of housing for the affected community after Davis opened a case with the police last month.

Davis opened a case against housing and land official Bidwell Made at the Humewood police station for cutting down indigenous trees to make way for houses for the Lorraine residents.

Bay council spokesman Kupido Baron said the municipality had tried its best to assist the developer to provide alternative housing for the Madiba Village residents.

“Unfortunately, the process was derailed when a ward councillor laid a charge against a housing official of the municipality, effectively delaying the process.”

He said the municipality had regretted the fact that the residents were now homeless. “In the Bay we respect the environment but on this issue we are saying that people are much more important than replaceable trees,” said Baron.

The Seaview forest is home to indigenous wildlife and plants.

The forest is protected under the National Forest Act of 1998.

Section 7 of the Act prohibits the destruction of living indigenous trees in any natural forest without a licence.

Anyone contravening this prohibition is guilty of a second category offence and can be sentenced to up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.

More than 30 families were left homeless when 29 shacks were flattened to make way for a development on Tuesday.

The residents slept in the open on Tuesday night as the municipality struggled to give swift assistance on Tuesday and Wednesday nights.

Baron said the city was working around the clock to find a solution to the homelessness of the residents.

“It is a bad situation and we don’t want to imagine how difficult it is for the residents to live,” added Baron.

Davis was not available for comment.