Unite against land invasions

UNLIKE buying a car or furniture, acquiring a home is a transaction most families undertake once, possibly twice, in their entire lifetime. That is why people refer to their home as their castle. Your home is your own domain. You are the ultimate ruler in that domain and you have the right and responsibility to defend it, if the need arises, and protect everyone and anything in it. This perhaps epitomises the resilience and determination of hundreds of residents in the Chatsworth suburbs of Crossmoor, Moorton and Shallcross, as well as New Germany who are fighting dogged battles to halt land invasions in their area. The manner in which residents have reacted to the threat has been commendable. Their approach is not confrontational. They realise that with growing urbanisation and unemployment, there is a chronic need for housing in the city. All they want is to be able to continue living in their homes – whether owned or rented – in peace, comfort and security. So they set up committees in their respective areas and consulted all the law enforcement agencies like Metro Police, the SAPS, the city’s Land Invasion Unit and Public Order Policing in a co-ordinated exercise. Not only are the residents rolling up their sleeves to clear bushy areas to ensure greater visibility, they have banded together as community watch volunteers and take turns to patrol affected areas at night. The effort calls for supreme commitment and huge sacrifices and many parents are forced to survive on a few hours of sleep each night to protect their properties. What has been rewarding has been the support of the law enforcement agencies and the team spirit and camaraderie that has grown in the community. The visibility of the patrollers has also seen a noticeable drop in the crime rate in recent weeks. One drawback, however, has been the operating hours of the municipality’s land invasion unit which currently operates from 8am to 3pm, which is ridiculous in the extreme. Shutting up shop at 3pm simply allows land invaders the opportunity to erect illegal shacks on open land in the dark. The municipality has a responsibility to assist in this co-ordinated campaign. By sticking to impractical and inflexible operating times, the city and its land invasion unit are not helping to resolve an urgent and growing problem in the greater Durban area. Today, it’s Chatsworth and New Germany. Tomorrow, it could be uMhlanga, Clermont or Pinetown.