Those who pocket public land will be prosecuted, says MEC

HUMAN Settlements MEC Ravi Pillay has cracked down on private developers building houses on public land and reselling them at huge profits without permission.

The land grabs by developers are alleged to involve swathes of land in various parts of the city including Phoenix. At least 10 state properties in Pinetown and the affluent Durban north suburb of La Lucia have also been fraudulently transferred to unsuspecting buyers.

“Our department is approaching the courts to halt onwards sales of state properties that have been fraudulently acquired by scamsters.

“Ten properties ranging in value from R300 000 to R24.8 million were illegally transferred using fake documents and signatures of officials who had long since left the department.”

“Nine of the properties are in the Pinetown/ashley area and a large tract of 2.9ha in La Lucia. The same names of bogus conveyancers and suspect agents keep cropping up. Several of the properties also changed hands within a short period of time raising more red flags. There may be roleplayers in these transactions who may be innocent but negligent if not reckless. We are on the hunt for the big fish and we will prosecute them. A piece of land is not something you can hide in your pocket and run away with. We will make sure that all of these state assets are retrieved,” Pillay said..

The MEC paid tribute to Phoenix community activists who defended play lots and sports fields from encroachment by developers. “Activists like Stanley Moonsamy have been resilient in the face of even physical assaults and defending the interests of their communities,” Pillay said.

Hailing the role of the ethekwini Municipality for listening to community complaints, Pillay welcomed the city’s decision to take corrective action where there have been shortcomings in its approvals and procurement processes.

South Africa faces a huge housing shortage, with ethekwini alone having a backlog of almost 400 000. At an average rate of delivery of around 8 000 units a year, it would take at least 50 years to close the gap.

However, despite demand for housing development, Pillay said private sector developers could not act recklessly.

“Private sector developers must be encouraged but cannot have carte blanche, act recklessly or without accountability. We will continue to work closely with developers who operate within the law, give fair value for money and fulfil a real social need,” he said.

Several cases are already before the courts with the provincial Department of Human Settlements pursuing criminal action against those who have been found to have grabbed and developed state land without authority.

“The phenomenon of shack lords who profit from land grabs by selling or letting to desperate people is deeply worrying. Teams from provincial government and municipalities are consistently monitoring these risks and demolishing structures where the law permits,” said Pillay.

Party leader Julius Malema and the EFF were interdicted by the Pretoria High Court this year from encouraging people to occupy land illegally.

“Provincial government is sympathetic to real land hunger among especially poor South Africans,” Pillay said. “However, we must draw the line at illegal land invasions and we will continue to use all legal measures at our disposal to safeguard state land.”

The policy conference of the ANC would debate a more aggressive approach to land acquisition for public housing purposes, he said.