The impact of eviction on the social capital of the former Bapsfontein informal settlement community

Abstract: South Africa is recognised worldwide for its good constitution, legal framework and policies that uphold the principles of human rights. In 2004 the South African government adopted a strategy towards the eradication of informal settlements by 2014. The challenge faced by South Africans today is the increased number of informal settlement evictions across the country. In December 2010 the Ekurhuleni Municipality evicted the Bapsfontein informal settlement community. For the past 20 years the former Bapsfontein informal settlement was home to 3 180 families. The majority of these people sustained their livelihoods by working on the surrounding farms as farm workers, domestic workers and casual workers. The purpose of this study is to understand how eviction has impacted on the social capital of the residents of the former Bapsfontein informal settlement. The study will explore how the people's lives were disrupted, mainly by looking at social networks and community social cohesion. Fifteen In-depth interviews were conducted with twenty people from the Bapsfontein informal settlement. The study revealed that although the authority has the role to preserve the community social capital in cases where relocation/eviction is unavoidable, as in the case of the Bapsfontein informal settlement community, the Ekurhuleni Municipality neglected its constitutional mandate to protect the social capital of the community. As a result the social structure that the community had in Bapsfontein informal settlement has been affected. What comes out strongly is the value that the social networks bring to sustain the livelihoods of the Bapsfontein informal settlement community and build the spirit of Ubuntu among the residents. In addition, social capital gives meaning to life and a sense of belonging. The main contributing factors that sustain the social networks are the level of trust that the group is able to develop and the social norms that they share as group. The study also reveals that, due to lack of effort invested in preserving the social capital during the eviction, the majority of the network could not re-establish their network. One of the challenges is the lack of trust among the residents. It emerges clearly that the authority has a critical role to play in preserving community social capital.M.A