Cape housing units petrol bombed

The City of Cape Town has condemned the petrol bombing of 16 city housing units in its Sir Lowry’s Pass Village IDA.

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Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has condemned the petrol bombing of 16 city housing units in its Sir Lowry’s Pass Village incremental development area (IDA).

“The units, all of which have been earmarked for vulnerable beneficiaries, have been damaged beyond repair. In addition, a further approximately 100 units were damaged when the doors were kicked in and the windows broken,” mayoral committee member for human settlements Benedicta van Minnen said on Friday.

“This criminal action is in retaliation after the city [on Thursday] acted to prevent the illegal occupation of the units by persons who are not beneficiaries of these units. City officials tried their best to prevent the invasion of the structures but, regrettably, without the support from the South African Police Service, they were unable to stop these thugs from damaging the units,” she said.

This had dire consequences for the IDA project as the identified beneficiaries would now have to wait while repairs were carried out, which could take some time.

They would not be able to immediately take up their rightful opportunities.

An assessment of the damage would be done and an amount in rand was not yet available.

“It is, however, safe to say that the damage is expected to amount to hundreds of thousands of rands. This situation is heart-breaking, exasperating, and completely unacceptable.

“I plead with the community that if they have any information regarding this situation they should come forward immediately and report what they know to the South African Police Service for investigation. They can also give anonymous tip-offs to the city by contacting 021-596-1999,” Van Minnen said.

African News Agency