Residents and party oppose tent camp plan for Melgisedek Centre in Pretoria
The Freedom Front Plus has joined neighbourhoods in Pretoria in objecting to the Tshwane Metro Council’s plan to relocate residents of the Melgisedek Centre to a temporary tent camp in Capital Park, saying the move risks eroding community character and the dignity of vulnerable people.
The dispute intensified after the Court of Appeal last week rejected an application by Lawyers for Human Rights to stop the relocation. The court decision cleared a legal obstacle to the metro’s plan and prompted an immediate political response from residents and the Freedom Front Plus.
Residents of Gezina and Capital Park have expressed fears their neighbourhoods could become more crime-prone if the tent town is established nearby. The Freedom Front Plus echoed those concerns and criticised what it described as a heavy-handed approach by the metro.
"Unsafe buildings need to be made secure, but it should never be at the expense of human dignity," the Freedom Front Plus said.
The party said the metro’s promise of "safe and dignified temporary accommodation" rang hollow when compared with the city’s track record on similar processes. It warned that the relocation could be "detrimental to Melgisedek residents" and "could destroy Capital Park’s character."
At the same time the Freedom Front Plus said it was engaging with private developers who have indicated they could deliver alternative accommodation for Melgisedek residents in the city centre. Those proposals have not been accepted by the coalition running the metro, which includes the ANC, EFF and ActionSA.
The coalition, the party said, insists on relocating the Melgisedek residents to a tent camp in the Moot area — a position the Freedom Front Plus described as "obstinate and malicious" and as offering "no real solution to the problem."
Demands and local consequences
Among the main demands from the Freedom Front Plus and community representatives is a clear pledge that no evictions should proceed until sufficient, dignified and permanent alternative housing is secured for Melgisedek residents. The party warned against the process being used for political point-scoring rather than addressing residents’ needs.
- Communities in Gezina and Capital Park: fear increased crime and loss of neighbourhood character.
- Freedom Front Plus: opposes relocation to a tent camp, advocates for city-centre alternatives from developers and calls for protection of human dignity.
- Tshwane Metro coalition (ANC, EFF, ActionSA): supports temporary tent accommodation in the Moot as the relocation solution.
The dispute highlights an enduring tension in Pretoria between immediate municipal options to address unsafe or informal housing and the longer-term obligation to find dignified, permanent solutions for displaced residents. It also demonstrates how court rulings, municipal policy and local politics overlap in highly visible ways for nearby neighbourhoods.
| Stakeholder | Position |
|---|---|
| Freedom Front Plus | Opposes tent camp in Capital Park; supports alternative city-centre accommodation; demands no evictions without permanent housing |
| Gezina & Capital Park residents | Concerned about potential crime and destruction of neighbourhood character |
| Tshwane Metro (ANC, EFF, ActionSA coalition) | Supports relocation to temporary tent town in the Moot |
| Lawyers for Human Rights | Applied to Court of Appeal to stop relocation (application rejected) |
Local residents who oppose the plan say their priority is safety and maintaining the character of their suburbs; advocates for the Melgisedek residents have sought to keep the needs of displaced people at the centre of the conversation.
The Freedom Front Plus called on the metro to ensure that any process "should not be misused to score cheap political points, but to actually serve residents' interests." The party warned that proceeding without securing alternatives would be "to everybody’s detriment."
With the Court of Appeal having declined to block the relocation, tensions remain high and the matter appears set to play out in municipal corridors and on the streets of Pretoria as the metro moves to implement its plan and opponents press for alternative solutions and stronger safeguards for human dignity.
