Buffalo City Metro (BCM) has taken a proactive approach to halt the spread of informal townships.
The city has now turned to the courts in a bid to prevent illegal land invaders who have occupied empty municipal land around East London and erected structures on it.
The metro last week won an interim interdict barring anyone from erecting further structures on municipal land around Braelyn Extension 10, Cambridge West, Ducats, Stoneydrift, Dorchester Heights, Brakfontein and Vergenoeg.
The order restrains potential land invaders from “entering upon or commencing to occupy” land that is not meant for housing.
The move comes as more and more state land in BCM is invaded by people desperate for housing.
According to an advert in the Daily Dispatch yesterday, the matter will again be in court on May 23 where a permanent order is expected to be granted, making it officially illegal for anyone to unlawfully invade land in the specified areas.
People who feel it is their right to occupy such land will have an opportunity to convince the court not to grant a permanent order.
BCM mayor Xola Pakati yesterday said they had resorted to court as the challenge of land invasion was “a big problem” in the metro.
Pakati said it was unacceptable that people were erecting structures in areas not zoned for human settlement as it “undermined” the metro’s developmental plans.
“We know that our people are in desperate need of land and houses, but we cannot have a free-for-all type of arrangement. We cannot allow anarchy. Land invasion is a big problem which undermines our local spatial development framework, while those responsible operate outside the legal frameworks, a transgression we cannot just ignore,” Pakati said.
He said most of the sites invaded were in hazardous areas that were not fit for human settlement.
This in turn created a crisis situation for metro emergency personnel when natural disasters such as floods happened. “We want to prevent all land invasions in the metro and where there is need for evictions, we will not shy away from initiating such,” Pakati added.
The metro has been battling illegal occupation of its land for years, which complicates the work of engineering and housing departments as they both have to rearrange priorities to accommodate illegal occupiers, who, by law, are protected once they reside in the same spot for more than six months.
Last year the metro attained a court order from the Bhisho High Court ordering the land invaders to stop erecting “any structure” on open land hotspots in Scenery Park and at Mdantsane’s main entrance.
The order made little difference to the 400 shacks mushrooming at the Mdantsane entrance. The settlement has caused problems for businesses in the area and traditional leaders who previously used the land during initiation season.
A permanent court order on May 23 would empower the metro to take all the necessary and “reasonable” steps to “dismantle and demolish” any structure erected on the seven affected sites.
BCM turns to court to stem land invasions
The city has now turned to the courts in a bid to prevent illegal land invaders who have occupied empty municipal land around East London and erected structures on it.
The metro last week won an interim interdict barring anyone from erecting further structures on municipal land around Braelyn Extension 10, Cambridge West, Ducats, Stoneydrift, Dorchester Heights, Brakfontein and Vergenoeg.
The order restrains potential land invaders from “entering upon or commencing to occupy” land that is not meant for housing.
The move comes as more and more state land in BCM is invaded by people desperate for housing.
According to an advert in the Daily Dispatch yesterday, the matter will again be in court on May 23 where a permanent order is expected to be granted, making it officially illegal for anyone to unlawfully invade land in the specified areas.
People who feel it is their right to occupy such land will have an opportunity to convince the court not to grant a permanent order.
BCM mayor Xola Pakati yesterday said they had resorted to court as the challenge of land invasion was “a big problem” in the metro.
Pakati said it was unacceptable that people were erecting structures in areas not zoned for human settlement as it “undermined” the metro’s developmental plans.
“We know that our people are in desperate need of land and houses, but we cannot have a free-for-all type of arrangement. We cannot allow anarchy. Land invasion is a big problem which undermines our local spatial development framework, while those responsible operate outside the legal frameworks, a transgression we cannot just ignore,” Pakati said.
He said most of the sites invaded were in hazardous areas that were not fit for human settlement.
This in turn created a crisis situation for metro emergency personnel when natural disasters such as floods happened. “We want to prevent all land invasions in the metro and where there is need for evictions, we will not shy away from initiating such,” Pakati added.
The metro has been battling illegal occupation of its land for years, which complicates the work of engineering and housing departments as they both have to rearrange priorities to accommodate illegal occupiers, who, by law, are protected once they reside in the same spot for more than six months.
Last year the metro attained a court order from the Bhisho High Court ordering the land invaders to stop erecting “any structure” on open land hotspots in Scenery Park and at Mdantsane’s main entrance.
The order made little difference to the 400 shacks mushrooming at the Mdantsane entrance. The settlement has caused problems for businesses in the area and traditional leaders who previously used the land during initiation season.
A permanent court order on May 23 would empower the metro to take all the necessary and “reasonable” steps to “dismantle and demolish” any structure erected on the seven affected sites.
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