‘Sol went back on its promise’
WHILE residents were earlier this week celebrating the apparent clearing of a portion of land near Chris Hani Park for the establishment of their shacks, the Sol Plaatje Municipality yesterday denied that it had given permission for the erection of shacks on the vacant land, causing the residents to take to the streets.
Yesterday afternoon, residents blockaded Royal Street, the main road leading into Galeshewe, alleging that the municipality had reneged on its promises
The area of land requested by the residents for the erection of their shacks is opposite the Galeshewe Day Hospital.
Members of the community were jubilant as they were under the impression that the land had been given to them by the Sol Plaatje executive mayor, Patrick Mabilo, on Monday.
The residents of Ward 33 in Chris Hani Park started clearing the open piece of veld earlier this month and are ready to start building their shacks on the land that they have dubbed “Scandal”.
Bulldozers have been cleaning the piece of land since Tuesday this week, after the residents reportedly engaged in a meeting with the mayoral committee on Monday. According to them, this was not a land grab but a crime-fighting effort to save the land and the community. The residents pointed out that the area had become a notorious hot spot for crime.
“There are always robberies and murders going on there,” they said.
According to the residents, they have been asking the Sol Plaatje Municipality for permission to erect shanties on the vacant land for more than six months.
“Our children and the elderly are not safe with this open piece of land that is teeming with all sorts of elements.”
They stated that the land had been vacant since 1999.
“We enquired and we were told that the land belongs to the municipality and it forms part of the proposed bypass road.”
The community also plans to occupy the clearing across the road, between the day hospital and old age home.
“To show that we are working with the municipality, we have already sent our list of beneficiaries, which consists of 250 people, to the municipality for verification purposes. We will use the municipality’s system from here onwards,” a spokesperson for the community, Lawrence Mkhwanazi, said.
The spokesperson for Sol Plaatje Municipality, Sello Matsie, has, however, distanced the local authority from the claims and confirmed that the land was earmarked for the construction of a road.
“The municipality never gave the go-ahead for the establishment of shacks in this area. It is not true. That portion of land has been earmarked for a road that stretches from the N12 to the Cape Town road,” said Matsie yesterday.
The spokesperson for the Mayor’s Office, Persome Oliphant, also denied the existence of an agreement to clear the land for housing.
According to Oliphant, the last time the municipality met with the community of Chris Hani was two weeks ago, when the mayor discouraged them from occupying the land illegally.
“The police were in attendance at the meeting and residents raised their concerns about crimes of rape, murder and robberies in their ward.”
Oliphant urged residents to follow the necessary procedures regarding occupation of any vacant land.
“The executive mayor, Patrick Mabilo, has committed to working with the community on programmes that will combat crime in the area,” she stated further.
After the municipality’s apparent about-turn, residents were left confused yesterday.
One of the residents, who did not not want to be named, said that he was part of the delegation that attended Monday’s meeting at the municipality.
“Where do you think these bulldozers come from ... they were sent by the municipality to prepare the land for us. Although we are aware that this is only a temporary agreement, because the area is earmarked for the bypass road, we called the community on Monday afternoon to give feedback regarding the outcome of our meeting.
“If it is the case that this land is reserved for a bypass road, why are there already RDP houses built here. The N12 cannot run through the houses. The municipality must stop playing mind games with people’s lives and do proper planning,” the man said.
The residents went on to say that they decided to embark on protest action yesterday because numerous attempts to contact the municipality to determine a way forward had apparently failed.
“If the municipality won’t speak to us, we will put up our shacks on this land.”