Airport Valley residents relocated as Gqeberha's delayed 445-unit housing project advances
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Informal structures were demolished in Airport Valley, Gqeberha, on Tuesday as residents were relocated to make way for a 445-unit housing development delayed for more than three years.
Informal structures in Airport Valley, Gqeberha, were demolished on Tuesday as residents were relocated to make way for a 445-unit housing development, with some residents saying they had not received notice that their homes would be torn down.
Nwabisa Yamiso, who said she had lived in her informal structure for four years, watched as a bulldozer tore through the roof and walls, reducing it to rubble minutes after her belongings had been hurriedly carried outside. "We did not receive a notice that the houses were going to be demolished and some of our neighbours are at work. They are not even waiting for them to come back from work," she said. "I am not happy about this... what is sad is that the conditions where they are transferring us are bad."
Lusanda Tutu, whose structure was also demolished, said she had lived in Airport Valley since 2023. "The worst part is that we were not given any notice. They just arrived and demolished," she said, adding that she would have to look for a place to rent because she no longer had anywhere to live. Residents scrambled to remove what they could before the bulldozer moved in, leaving belongings scattered across the ground, and angry shouts echoed across the area.
Community leader Mara Payi, who has lived in the area for more than three years, said some residents only became aware that demolitions were going ahead on Wednesday, 23 September. "We must take account that there are kids living here and vulnerable women who live alone. This is going to cause a very big impact on them," she said.
In a statement on Monday, 28 September, the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said approximately 125 people had already relocated to a nearby safe area where they were accommodated in temporary houses, and that it had assisted 39 additional residents with what it described as consensual demolition and relocation to the temporary site. The municipality said the 445-unit Airport Valley housing development had been delayed for more than three years due to resistance from some residents, adding that some of those resisting were not beneficiaries of the development. "The Municipality would like to put it on record that the process is a legal relocation process, not a forced removal," the statement said.