Cato Manor Case Study

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Cato Manor Cato Manor started off as land given to George Christopher Cato (first mayor of Durban) as compensation for his land that was taken up by the colonial government near the harbour. After Cato’s death his estate was divided and subdivided and sold accordingly. Cato Manor’s very luring not only due to its position and its accessibility to transport - (8km away from the Durban CBD), Cato Manor was peaceful than the other areas around at the time, there were no issues of “The land has not yet acquired the welter of confusing claims of power, obligation, reciprocity and simple and brutal oppression that characterise life in more stable and established shacklands.”. (Freund, 2007). The white South African Government passed the Land Act…show more content…
Indian landowners had provided housing on their smallholdings for African tenants. (Edwards,1994) and (Freund, 2007). The demand for housing was so high that african tenants sub let their properties to other African subtenants as other areas were to congested. This provided africans a source of financially accessible housing close to the Durban. This was the only avenue open to black South Africans who wished to live close to the city, had to take residence in these Cato Manor. In general African workers were on very low wages which put heavy strain on the individuals when it came to affordability of housing as well as painting upkeep of taxes on the rural lands. The densification of Cato Manor cause…show more content…
(1994)) in order to fulfil the apartheid governments objects of “to increase the capitalisation of inner city land by clearing it of africans and allowing white ownership and residence”.(Edwards, I. (1994). In 1959 the government rezoned Cato Manor to a white residential zone, all african residents from the area where to be removed and land owned by indians was to be expropriated, this brought about a period of removals the emergence of South african political identities in the form of Chief Albert Luthuli (ANC) all fighting for the right to the permanent rights to reside in Cato Manor. The courts were inundated with appeals and arguments to these removals. The municipality forced more and more residents out, using fabricated health issues as the basis for the relocation, setting up emergency camps. The government used various methods of coercing residents and members of political parties which served two purposes, it would cause splits within the political parties and the other easier relocation of residents of Cato Manor to the “promised” better housing in KwaMashu and
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