Tag: land invasion

EFF stages landgrab in Ballito

A group of EFF members staged a land grab on prime real estate in Ballito on Sunday.

The seaside town, north of Durban, is home to some of the most opulent developments in KwaZulu-Natal.

A well-placed police source with knowledge of the incident, who could not be named as he is not authorised to speak to the press, confirmed that two groups of EFF members had attempted to stake their claim on a tract of farm land on the outskirts of the town.

“This morning we had an incident with two groups of EFF members who tried to occupy a piece of the land which flanks the N2 near the entrance to Ballito. Police officers were called to the scene,” he said.

“They were intent on claiming the piece of land which belongs to a local farmer who eventually came to the hilltop where they all were,” the source said.

“The owner of the land spoke to them and everyone agreed to convene a meeting in two weeks. There is a process that needs to be followed with these land claims, you cannot just show up and expect to start building,” he said.

Louis Kotze, of security firm Ballito Hawks, confirmed that the attempted land grab was ongoing.

Source: News24

Land invasion south of Johannesburg

plakkersResidents from the Lawley informal settlement have invaded land along the Lawley Road, south of Johannesburg.

The residents formed small groups on the land while community members addressed them amid heavy police presence.

According to Thabangu Masukela, a member of the community at the informal settlement, residents went to “claim” the land after Deputy Chief Whip of the Council, Justice Ngalonkulu told the leaders of the community: “This Lawley should be your new home.”

Masukela also said that they wanted to “protect” their land from residents of Lawley 2, another informal settlement who were also invading land.

The land that residents are claiming belongs to Frederick Joseph and Millas Jane Merry.

“The government has not spoken to us about these land claims,” Christian Merry, one of the sons of Frederick Joseph and Millas Jane told Radio Islam.

“Last year we saw an article in a local newspaper about our land going to be used for low cost housing. My parents consulted a lawyer to engage the government, and to date we have heard nothing,” he said.

Meanwhile residents maintain they are not going back on their action of not “claiming” the land. “The government has spoken to us about the land,” said one resident.

“Negotiate while we are staying there,” said another.

Ismail Vadi, the ANC MEC for Roads and Transport told Radio Islam, that the MMC for Housing Dan Mbovu was aware of the land invasion that was taking place and summoned the police to the site.

Despite the residents claim that the land invasion was peaceful, Lawley Road was strewn with rocks and rubbish.

There was also police presence in the area with one officer saying that they were waiting for the ANC local ward councilor Janice Ndarala to address the residents.

Deputy Chief Whip of the council, Justice Ngalonkulu was unavailable for comment.

The deputy chief whip of the ANC in the City of Johannesburg, Ngalonkulu, is facing allegations of having an inappropriate relationship with Zero Defect Trading, a contractor that is involved in the R170 million Alexandra smart metre project.

Sunday World has established that Ngalonkulu now cruises around in a convertible BMW 335i.

Source: Radio Islam