Cape Town - Twenty members of the Ruyterwacht Tenants Forum (RTF) held a protest outside Parliament on Wednesday demanding the properties they live in be given to them, because some of them have paid rent for decades to Communicare.
They had gathered to witness the handing over of a memorandum to National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula.
In the memorandum, the tenants claim, among other things, they were being victimised by Communicare and challenged the organisation to prove its ownership of the properties which they claimed were owned by a defunct body set up during apartheid times.
Last November, the Land Claims Court instructed the Deeds Office to provide all the documents relating to Communicare’s ownership of selected properties. The matter is still unsettled.
RTF leader Reginald Cedras said they had previously sent complaints about Communicare’s ownership to the departments of Social Housing, Human Settlements, the Social Housing Regulatory Authority, the SA Revenue Service, the mayor, premier and president.
Earlier, in Parliament there was some confusion as to who would take the memorandum after the picket organisers failed to ensure confirmation from the Speaker’s office that someone would attend to them.
However, after the organisers made some phone calls, the Presidency’s regional director: national government services, Charles Ford, came to the gate and accepted the memorandum.
He told Cedras that he would make sure the memorandum go to the right person and that the process of getting feedback would take about a month.
Responding to the picket, Communicare chief operating officer Makhosi Kubheka said allegations that Communicare had infringed the rights of any of its tenants were unfounded.
“The allegations that Communicare is not the rightful owner of its properties is not new. No evidence has been forthcoming despite these claims being made over several years.”
She said that most Communicare property was governed by rental agreements with tenants.
“While we appreciate the sentiment, the law does not permit Communicare to transfer property to tenants because of a long rental agreement.
“This is simply not how the property market works.”