Quigney squatters set up shack with prime sea view

IT WAS not the beautiful sea view that attracted three Buffalo City residents to Quigney but lack of employment and the responsibility to feed their families.

The six have been living in bushes near Heroes Park for three months and the ratepayers’ association of the area only found out when they saw smoke billowing from the bush on several occasions.

The bush has now turned into an illegal dumpsite, which the six shack dwellers use to salvage items to sell.

Port Alfred-based Shane Lang, owner of Sea View Heights – a block of flats facing the bush where the shack dwellers live – said he first noticed the shacks about three months ago.

“I saw something was mushrooming in the area when I was last there, but I have not really followed up on it.

“I have received numerous complaints about break-ins and it’s most likely that crime will escalate when there are shacks next to the area.

He said the shacks, which are an eyesore, would take away the beauty of the beachfront and lead to plummeting property values along the seashore.

Lang said if the shack dwellers are left to stay there, they would attract many others.

Resident Samantha Van Wyk said after seeing the bush burning on Tuesday evening, she and her neighbours called the police and the fire brigade to put out the fire.

“The bush was on fire and we were concerned about the fire spreading to our houses, because the grass and trees are dry and this is not the first time we have had to call the fire department to put out fires.

“This proves that the illegal inhabitants staying there are a hazard in so many ways to our community.”

Illegal occupants Luthando Talatala, 18, and Nkululeko Bless, 23, from Orange Grove and Duncan Village confirmed they lived in the bush with four others.

“We love the beach and it’s so refreshing to wake up next to it and hear the sound of the waves, but that is not entirely why we are here.

“We have left our homes to seek employment to feed our families, and we can do this better living in a central area, where there is garbage everywhere, because what people throw away here becomes useful to our families,” he said. —