Pretoria - An informal settlement, a burning tyre and chickens outside a Pretoria high-income residential area would perhaps show the government that low-income housing built in high-income residential areas would not work, said Solidarity Youth on Sunday.
Solidarity Youth Pretoria spokesman Francois Coetzee said that although Solidarity was not against the building of low-cost housing, it was against the building of low-cost housing in high-income residential areas.
"The government wants to force social and economic development. We are against the enforcement of spatial and economic development.
"We would rather like to see development in underdeveloped residential areas," he said.
Coetzee was speaking after a Solidarity Youth protest on Saturday in which a mock informal settlement camp was set up outside a residential area in Silver Lakes, east of Pretoria.
Animals in enclosure
The "settlement", built of corrugated iron, together with an old maroon couch, was what the 15 protesters used for shelter and comfort.
Four chickens and a two goats in an enclosure also featured in the protest that included a burning tyre.
"We received complaints from people living behind the 'informal settlement', but other than that we did not get into trouble," said Coetzee.
"The reason we did this was because of the Tshwane municipality's plans to erect low-cost housing within existing residential areas in Pretoria," he said.
Coetzee said that if this was to take place it would have a negative impact on the prices of existing houses.
The Gauteng housing department could not be reached for comment.
