GroundUp reports that last week members of the SA National Defence Force (SANDF) accompanied police to safeguard Eskom workers who were removing illegal electricity connections into Qandu-qandu informal settlement in Khayelitsha.  

About a month ago, the force was deployed to various areas on the Cape Flats to assist police with their battle against gangs.  The settlement has no basic services and residents there depend on izinyoka (illegal connections) for electricity.  On Tuesday, residents looked on as wires were disconnected from their shacks.  Several people questioned the army’s presence and its role during the removals.  “The army is here to intimidate us so that we do not fight against this oppression,” said a resident.  Qandu-qandu is a relatively new settlement and is not yet in the City of Cape Town’s database.  As a result, it has not received any basic services like water and sanitation.  Noting that the land had been illegally occupied and was on wetlands, the municipality indicated that the only solution for Qandu-qandu was relocation.

• Read the full original of the above GroundUp report by Velani Ludidi at Moneyweb

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