Destroying a community garden to protect unused 'property'

Those in positions of authority are blameless by law, regulation and public perception while those in poverty are used as scapegoats for the atrocities and injustices of capitalist democracy. 

Historically, the use of capital and corporal punishment was largely administered only to serfs, slaves, and blacks. In South Africa, contemporary middle class communities have been found to attribute the revoking of apartheid laws for the widespread social upheavals. This is instead of recognising the widening inequalities and socioeconomic crises that result from centuries of inequalities and violence. 

I'm thinking about the sweeping clampdown on township taxis in Cape Town. The City of Cape Town (CCT) government claims to be protecting innocent residents against criminals. In fact, what the CCT government is doing is the opposite. People whose lives it claims to protect suffer. These taxis are the source of transport for the poorest of the poor, and they put food on the table.

The same government managers are protecting and prioritizing the interests of a few greedy rich people at the expense of the poor and majority. 

This is done by excluding poor people from land near cities, workplaces or job opportunities. The city of Cape Town is swamped with empty and abandoned buildings. And yet many are homeless, living in informal settlements or overcrowded squalor without basic human dignity.

Again, the fact is that many, many, many more people are without work, land, and water. The same government uses law enforcement to target poor people who are just trying to make ends meet. An unemployed group of women from Kensington's Gate 7 informal settlement started a vegetable garden on a patch of land near their neighbourhood. The law enforcement arrived and ordered them to cease what they were doing, calling what they were doing an act of ‘land invasion’.

Amidst the uncontrollable socio economic crisis, the government still chose to let impoverished people die of starvation.

A group of women from Gate 7 informal settlement started a vegetable garden, near their informal settlement in Gate 7, Kensington. Law enforcement commanded the women to cease these activities as it constituted land invasion. The land belongs to the City of Cape Town, on Thursday, July 21, 2022. This is despite the fact that vegetables are seasonal, have the potential to save many lives and the land is available and is not being used. This is evident that while the Black Administration Act of 1927 has been formally revoked, its practices and results continue to be felt. The same tactics used during colonialism and apartheid to force people into Bantustans still apply.

These actions are further reinforcing the tribalism imposed during colonial and apartheid rule through racial labour systems and spatial planning. These effects are embedded in our societal mental algorithm and fabric. Manifesting in social upheavals and where, instead of turning to the ruling elite for answers, we are increasingly becoming a dog eat dog society. The ongoing mayhem of violent crimes, domestic violence, xenophobia, and gangsters is the manifest of colonial, apartheid, and ongoing imperialism.