Residents of a new City of Cape Town housing development in Valhalla Park have been staying in their homes without electricity since December last year. The area, which residents have named ‘The Heights’, is occupied mostly by pensioners and unemployed people and is not yet completed. Some streets are still dirt, and piles of unused construction materials lie around. Armed response cars take turns patrolling the entrance to the development, while security guards roam around in plain clothes. 

Some of the streets have only the street light poles erected, but without any connectivity or light bulbs in them. Residents say they don’t want lights on the street, but inside their houses first. Speaking to Elitsha, they criticised the city’s delays in providing much needed electricity to the area.

Peter Johnson is a resident pensioner who has stayed there since December with his partner, and their two children. All the fires he made for cooking and heating were damaging the property, less so since getting a gas tank, and the living conditions are unbearable. “We have been fed stories regarding the issue of electricity. We have been receiving empty promises from the ward councillor,” he complained.

Residents also highlighted that the lack of electricity allows criminals to make the place their playground, as robberies and people getting stabbed happens frequently. 

Jenine Ben, who is wheelchair bound, has lost her son to the lawlessness. “My son was robbed here at night while coming from work. He was stabbed to death and had his belongings taken from him. I am sitting in a wheelchair and only survive through my grant. We are losing people daily, because of the crime and the darkness makes it worse. How many people must lose their lives because of the darkness?” she cried. 

Gabriel Bosser, 75, is also a pensioner who uses a wheelchair. “Life is very hard without electricity. I cannot imagine what our lives would have been without the gas tank we use; many others depend on making fire outside their homes. Between buying food and refilling the gas tank every now and then, my pension money cannot do much,” Bosser told Elitsha. 

Another resident said they are indebted to loan sharks because of the lack of electricity. “I am an unemployed mother of three kids. We solely survive on their grants, and we need to also buy gas every two weeks, and there is also food. We now hear that they are busy with another development somewhere nearby, but this one is stuck. I believe the City of Cape Town does not care about us,” she said. 

Rosslyn Marang said their children cannot play in the evenings because of the darkness. “They have been playing hide and seek with us. The children here have no entertainment at home because there are no TVs and they cannot play outside the house, because it gets dark. We are going to spend another Christmas in the dark next month. Most of the people who stay here are not employed and cannot afford the alternatives to electricity. People use candles which are dangerous,” says Marang. 

City says residents consented

The housing project is under investigation for an unlawful tender linked to Malusi Booi’s co-accused, the late Abdul Kader Davids. Malusi Booi is the former Democratic Alliance’s human settlements mayoral committee member in the City of Cape Town who is facing charges of fraud and racketeering.

Mayoral committee member for Human Settlements, Carl Pophaim, said, due to the risks of crime, extortion and unlawful occupation, there was consensus with the beneficiary community that they would take occupation prior to the installation of electrical services by the City. The appointment of the electrical contractor was delayed however. “The electrical contractor was appointed at the end of June 2024 and some work was done until contract expiry. A new contractor will be appointed by end November subject to compliance with legislation and the city’s internal processes,” said Pophaim. 

Pophaim further denied allegations of the unfairness of the process of allocating houses for residents.
“Beneficiaries of all city housing projects are allocated in accordance with our allocation policy and the date of registration on our housing needs register. This is to ensure that housing opportunities are provided to qualifying applicants in a fair, transparent and equal manner, and to prevent queue jumping,” he told Elitsha.