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.