About 100 residents from three villages who are part of the Zimbane land claimants marched to King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipal offices in Mthatha on Thursday, demanding RDP houses and land for grazing.
Armed with placards and chanting “Sasitshilo kuZozo, sathi lo ngumhlaba wethu! [We told Zozo, that this is our land]”, the protestors, who came from Mabheleni, Tyumbu and Ntlekiseni villages, less than 10 kilometres outside Mthatha, handed over a petition to municipal bosses, containing a list of grievances.
They demanded that the municipality stop working with the communal property association (CPA), which they said did not represent their interests.
“You must adhere to all court orders pertaining to the Zimbane land claim and development, particularly the 2014 court order which states that for any development to take place on the land in question, consent from the people of Zimbane must first be obtained,” stated their petition.
On Thursday, Mabheleni-Tyumbu-Ntlekiseni Land Beneficiaries (MTNLB) chair, Sifumene Sweli, told KSD bosses at the handover of the petition that they were tired of being victimised by authorities.
He claimed they had given up land which used to be for their grazing fields for the building of Bhongweni and Ilitha residential areas. In return, they were promised RDP houses, which were never built.
He also cited the donation of a parcel of land by a committee entrusted to represent the needs of the whole Zimbane community to the University of South Africa (Unisa) last year, as one of the reasons they were unhappy with the CPA.
He accused KSD municipal officials of colluding with the committee at the expense of the people of the three villages.
KSD municipal public safety portfolio head Tshepo Machaea, who accepted the petition on behalf of KSD mayor Dumani Zozo, promised that the municipality would reply within 14 days...