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Aug 20
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53 land invasions on Public Works and Infrastructure Department properties, says De Lille

By | Eviction news, Eviction notice, Eviction orders
Minister of Public Works Patricia de Lille. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA) Archives
Minister of Public Works Patricia de Lille. Picture: Armand Hough/African News Agency(ANA) Archives

Cape Town: The Public Works and Infrastructure Department has experienced 53 land invasions on its properties across the country since last year.

The department was unsuccessful in preventing land invasion in 32 vacant properties and had instituted 12 cases of trespassing and/or eviction orders.

This was revealed by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille when responding to parliamenatry questions from DA MP Samantha Graham.

Graham had asked about the number of vacant properties owned by her department in 2019 and 2020.

The breakdown of invasions to the department’s properties showed that Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape, lead the pack with 14 incidents, followed by nine each in Port Elizabeth and Nelspruit, as well as eight in Durban.

Cape Town recorded four instances, there were three each in Kimberley and Mmabatho, two in Polokwane and one in Bloemfontein.

De Lille said her department had deployed various strategies to prevent land invasions.

These included nine vacant plots of land where the department was planning to procure the services of the security companies to patrol the area.

She also said another strategy was forging relationship with municipalities to collaborate and share intelligence on the land prevention tactics.

“The department is also intending to collaborate with community leaders, civil activists and whistle blowers to receive information of potential threats on land invasion and act immediately upon receipt of such information to prevent further land invasions,” the minister said.

She said they would also report cases to police to assist with the arrest of the trespassers and the demolition of informal structures within 24 hours of their erection.

Meanwhile, Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola said the National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development had informed him that statistics relating to cases of illegal invasion of state-owned land, which were prosecuted in the past five financial years, had not been kept.

Lamola was responding to DA MP Jacques Julius, who asked about the number of cases of illegal invasion of land owned by the state that had been prosecuted, and the number of successful prosecutions in each province.

He said invasion of state property would normally constitute the civil offence of trespass.

“Complaints in this regard, would be submitted by municipalities. There is no record of cases opened by municipalities against trespassers in this regard,” Lamola said.

He said municipalities usually initiated civil proceedings and sought a court order for the eviction of unlawful land invaders.

“These cases would normally be enrolled on the civil case roll in various magistrates’ districts.”

He said some of these civil cases were often also settled out of court with the result that no case was actually registered on the court roll in such circumstances.

“It is for this reason that the statistics of these civil cases are not readily available,” Lamola said.

Reprinted from IOL (emphasis by SD Law*)

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a firm of specialist eviction lawyers, based in Cape Town and now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction.

Further Reading:

Aug 12
0

‘Shots fired’, items burnt in Duduza eviction raises red flags

By | Eviction news, Evictions
IN PICS: ‘Shots fired’, items burnt in Duduza eviction raises red flags

Some of the shacks being set alight during the raid. Photo: supplied.

Officers responded to the area from Wednesday and demolished shacks built next to the river.

In a letter penned to the executive mayor of the city of Ekurhuleni, the Black First Land First (BLF) has questioned an eviction by the city’s officers, where Ekurhuleni Metro (EMPD) officer’s targetted Ward 102 in Duduza and allegedly set alight some of the properties.

According to the BLF, the EMPD without warning or a court order evicted over 100 people and destroyed around 34 shacks, last week in the bustling township of Duduza, in Tembisa.

In the letter seen by The Citizen, the movement alleges EMPD officers unleashed rubber bullets, destroyed shacks and set some goods on fire during the unlawful attacks on scores of people, left homeless following the eviction.

At the scene of the evictions, BLF arrived to find people in grief, with two children aged two and three, with no clothes except for the clothes on their backs.

“Yet again we see the state denying rights to the most vulnerable of our society.

“There is no dispute that the evictions carried out are unlawful. Let’s remind you, Mr Mayor, that when the national lockdown commenced, the Government Gazette on 26 March 2020, stated that ‘all evictions and the execution of attachment orders, both movable and immovable, including the removal of movable assets and sales in execution is suspended with immediate effect for the duration of the lockdown’.

“This regulation is in place under Level 3 of the lockdown. Therefore even if there was a court order to evict, such an order would be suspended by the regulation. In this case, it’s worse because no court order has in fact been obtained according to the victims of the evictions by your police.”

The movement, urging the city to return all confiscated material, asked for those whose belongings were burnt to be compensated. Action against officers who broke the law by executing an unlawful eviction must be taken, BLF demanded.

“I also wish to remind you that in terms of the Constitution no one may be evicted without a court order. Section 26(3) of the Constitution is clear that ‘no one may be evicted from their home, or have their home demolished, without an order of court made after considering all the relevant circumstances,’” the movement said.

While the movement has called for answers including evidence of the court order, attempts to contact the city were fruitless at the time of publishing, despite numerous attempts to the city, for comment. It was in a Sowetan report, that MMC for community safety Phaladi Mmoko defended its decision to demolish shacks in the informal settlement, in Tembisa.

Mmoko justified the eviction by stating that the people had attempted a land invasion, as they had not lived in the area for a long time.

“If we were going to be found sleeping on our job we were going to be dealing with thousands. If a person occupies government land illegally, we are duty-bound to go and remove that person. Our interest is to safeguard the property of the municipality.”

While the police, Ekurhuleni metro, and BLF butt heads over the questionable eviction, the Human Rights Commission’s Gushwell Brooks in providing some insight on evictions, said the commission’s stance on the evictions issue was for evictions to be put on hold, as they would render people homeless, considering the current economical climate.

Proper legal notice, with measures to accommodate the tenants, with an alternative were necessary steps in ensuring human rights took precedent.

Although he said the commission urged the Gauteng government to put a hold on evictions, he noted that there remained issues of land invasions that most metro’s had to address, which in turn resulted in a “double-edged sword” scenario.

Reprinted from The Citizen (emphasis by SD Law*)

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a firm of specialist eviction lawyers, based in Cape Town and now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our eviction attorneys on 086 099 5146 or sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction.

Further Reading:

Aug 11
0

Group petitions against eviction to remain living at old Observatory circus school

By | Eviction news, Eviction orders, Evictions
Group staying at old circus school in Observatory are petitioning the City to lease the property to the residents. Picture: Marvin Charles/Cape Argus
Group staying at old circus school in Observatory are petitioning the City to lease the property to the residents. Picture: Marvin Charles/Cape Argus

Cape Town – A group of people who have been illegally staying at the former SA National Circus School next to Hartleyvale Stadium in Observatory are petitioning the City to lease the property to the residents.

The calls come after several failed negotiations with the City, with eviction orders having been served.

The petition addressed to mayor Dan Plato stated: “As Observatory residents and supporters from outside the suburb, we call on the City of Cape Town to halt current attempts to evict residents on the property at 2 Willow Road, Observatory, and enter into negotiations with the Observatory Civic Association and the Willow Arts Collective towards leasing the old circus school land for this innovative community-driven project.”

The Willow Arts Collective is a community project based within the Hartleyvale sports precinct in Observatory, Cape Town, and it has begun to turn a neglected piece of land into an urban vegetable garden that provides locally grown, organic vegetables for the community.

Resident Moyo Uno said: “We aim to lease or purchase the City of Cape Town-owned property , formerly known as the SA National Circus, and turn it into the first multi-use centre for heritage, arts, recreation and sustainable living in the Southern Suburbs.”

So far, the petition has more than 800 signatures and residents have until August 15 to make their voices heard. At least 24 residents have been staying on the property.

Since 2018, they have been served with eviction notices from the City, which wants to use the land for sport and recreational activities. Last month, the eviction case was postponed and the magistrate ordered the parties to hold meaningful engagements.

Mayco member for community services and health Zahid Badroodien said: “Unfortunately, as you know, the previous leaseholder had illegally been subletting the land to individuals that have since grown in number and have further begun to use the land outside of its intended sporting purposes.

“The Hartleyvale sporting precinct boasts a proud heritage as a community sport facility but current unauthorised activities are not only threatening this asset, but its continued use as a recreational space. The City has and will continue to engage with the occupiers to offer alternative forms of accommodation which have up to now been refused.”

Reprinted from IOL by Marvin Charles

Simon Dippenaar & Associates, Inc. is a firm of specialist eviction lawyers, based in Cape Town and now operating in Johannesburg and Durban, helping both landlords and tenants with the eviction process. Contact one of our attorneys on 086 099 5146 or sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za if you need advice on the eviction process or if you are facing unlawful eviction.

Further Reading: