A family living at the Marion Institute in Bridgetown want the water and electricity bills to be paid and for both to be switched back on.
Bernard Takeloo and his family have been living at the Marion Institute for about two years.
However, he had only been offered the place to live in with his wife and daughter for three months, said Tanya Kleinhans, committee member of the Marion Institute, which aims to bring awareness to the rights of indigenous people.
After three months, the family refused to move and still live there, now also with two grandchildren.
Mr Takeloo said conditions at the Marion Institute were uninhabitable as they had no water and electricity and had to make a fire everyday to cook food. They couldn’t buy food in bulk because they had no electricity for a fridge. He said he worried about his grandchild’s health as winter was approaching and the water seeped into the building when it rained.
“I made this place look the way it does. There was break-ins here every weekend. Promises have been made by them to restore the electricity but nothing has happened. Everything was fine but last month when I asked about the electricity things went south. She told me she doesn’t have money after promising me five times. I sent her messages about the water being cut off but no reply. Now she is threatening me with eviction. Out of anger I sent her some wrong messages,” he said.
Bridgetown ward councillor, Rashid Adams, said the City of Cape Town disconnected the water because no payment arrangement was paid.
“The community has a problem with the space and the people occupying the property. There are lots of allegations going around. They’ve never actually shown documents that they own the building,” he said.
Ms Kleinhans said the agreement was for three people to move in but now there was an entire family on the property. She said there is no money to pay for the arrears of the water and electricity because of the debt of the previous owner.
“We didn’t ask him to maintain the property. He is a crafty liar. What he has done is wrong and unacceptable. We have had various break-ins at the property before. He has threatened me more than once. We are not allowed to run our programmes there. I understand basic human rights but I am having to pay other people’s debt,” she said.
