Land-grab syndicate ‘a money-making scheme’
LENASIA South residents believe a land grab syndicate is operating in the area and renting out vacant municipal plots to informal dwellers.
The residents held a placard demonstration on Friday, after about 300 shacks were erected in the Hillside area.
The situation became heated when the formal and informal dwellers clashed.
A Hillside resident, 46, said he was angry by the manner in which people were acquiring land.
“These are under-handed dealings which are illegal,” he said.
“We work hard to pay our bonds, rates, and taxes, but here you have people stealing land and getting tenants to pay the rent. We have to deal with the consequences.”
He said the informal dwellings were located close to the residential areas.
“We are worried that properties are being devalued. What do we do when we want to sell? We have to deal with regular power outages due to illegal electricity connections and cable theft. We are told to report these cases but nothing comes of it.”
Another Hillside resident was concerned about the crime.
“Since the number of shacks has increased, we have had numerous reports of break-ins. Our clothing is stolen from the washing line and equipment from the yard.”
The woman, 34, said she did not feel comfortable allowing her children to play outside. “There are so many unknown faces, so I am constantly on edge. It is unfair to live like this. I fear I will soon have to move out of my home.”
The chairperson of the Lenasia South Residents Association, Joy Govender, said the fight was not with the informal residents.
“We can understand the plight of the people, who are just looking for a place to call home. But what is the government doing to address this issue?”
She said they believed a syndicate was operating in the area.
“We have seen people drive in fancy cars and well-dressed individuals come into the area. They get others to build shacks and then they leave.”
Govender said they were aware people from other provinces and neighbouring countries made the area their home and ended up renting the acquired properties to build shacks.
“This is a money-making scheme.” The ward councillor, Vinay Choonie, said they approached the South African Human Rights Commission to intervene.
“I am the middle-man in this situation, and when I tried to approach the illegal dwellers, I am attacked… We need the matter to be escalated to the provincial level.”
He said he met with a SAHRC commissioner on Monday and was liaising with the Department of Human Settlements and the Department of Safety and Security.
The municipality had not commented at the time of publication.