Slovo Park at a Glance

Slovo Park is situated in a politically and socially sensitive stretch of land south of Soweto. The community has been known by national government as Nancefield, by local council as Olifantsvlei and in the last five years as Slovo Park – named in honour of South Africa’s first minister of housing and former Umkhonto we Sizwe General, Joe Slovo.

The forced changing of identity reflects an on-going struggle faced by the leadership of Slovo Park to gain recognition as a legitimate settlement to access governmental support. This battle has been fought through constant shifts in governmental policy, power and promises for the community of Slovo Park. Their only tactics comprising of service delivery protest, painstaking formal requests for upgrade and currently a lawsuit against the City of Johannesburg.

Currently the community of Slovo Park with its development partners are strategizing this key social and political move.


THIS SITE SERVES AS A PORTAL FOR THE COMMUNITY OF SLOVO PARK & THE VARIOUS DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS TO SHARE THE JOURNEY OF RE-DEVELOPMENT.


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Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Slovo UISP Court Ruling 2016

After almost two decades of failed negotiations the City of Johannesburg has been ordered to spend about R370 million on formal housing for ten thousand people at the Slovo Park informal settlement including those who have not previously qualified for RDP.

 Government inactivity resulted in the Slovo Park community partnering up with a few organizations to get assistance in upgrading various services in the community, while continuously engaging the ANC ward councillor to pressurise elected politicians and government officials to implement an upgrading project. This eventually led to the community launching a High Court application in 2014 as a last resort, after exhausting all possible avenues for receiving government assistance.

 Initially the City was resistant and focused their case on discrediting the legitimacy of the communities legal representatives, and a year later they revealed their plan to relocate the Slovo Park community to a still-to-be constructed housing development at a place called “Unaville” some 11 km from Slovo Park.

 While this judgement has been a victory for the community of Slovo Park, the upgrading process may take a few years to begin. Before it can begin the  it is up to the provincial government to respond to the City’s application and make the housing subsidy available.

Watch: Slovo Park residents elated at court order for upgrades



Sources:

 Cox, A. (2018). Houses for 10 000 Slovo Park settlers | IOL News. [online] Iol.co.za. Available at: https://www.iol.co.za/news/south-africa/gauteng/houses-for-10-000-slovo-park-settlers-2006113 [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018].

 Royston, N. (2018). Upgrading informal settlements: The importance of the Slovo Park judgment | Daily Maverick. [online] Daily Maverick. Available at: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2016-04-11-upgrading-informal-settlements-the-importance-of-the-slovo-park-judgment/#.Wt2uJ617G34 [Accessed 23 Apr. 2018].


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