Leonie Kellermann het nie gejok nie, vir die wat in mashmallow land op n wolkie woon, en se dit sal nooit gebeur nie... Thousands of people hearing rumours of a illegal land invasion started claiming stands and occupying some 800 ha of land on the northern side of the Matlala road, starting on Friday. Since Friday, Review has received numerous calls from business owners saying their employees had not reported for duty as they were told “Julius (Malema) said they could come and get land”. The land, at Extension 71, 72 and 76, which is being occupied at an alarming rate, belongs to the Polokwane Municipality and private landowners. It cover the area from the RDP houses perimeter, into the yet undeveloped Extension 78, and further onto private farmland up to Blood River. According to some of the land grabbers whom Review spoke to, they plan to occupy all the land up to the Seshego crossing, approximately 8 kilometres further. By Sunday, with rumours spreading fast, more than 600 motor vehicles were parked along the road, as people from near and far came to claim and illegally occupy plots. Since then, hundreds of cars have been seen parked along the road every day, bringing more people who have heard about free land being up for grabs. Vehicle registration numbers reflect those present as being frmo Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State and Limpopo. Many of these land grabbers are jobless or say they are “tired of paying rent”, and want their own land. Some claim they have registered for RDP houses and have been waiting for 10 years, only to be told they were not on the waiting list. “This piece of land is for free. We can just claim our land, let an attendant help us measure it, and then go and register with our ID books in Seshego zone 1 or in Ext 73,” some land grabbers told Review. One such illegal occupant said he needed a stand to conduct his business from. He sells aluminium window frames. It would appear that most of the occupants do not care that their occupation is illegal. They say government will have to buy the land for them and the municipality will have to supply them with services such as water and sewerage. They say they are prepared to fight for “their” land, and will not allow anyone to evict them. Polokwane municipality manager, Conny Mametja, confirmed the occupations were illegal, saying the municipality was in the process of taking legal action. On Sunday and Monday, municipal officials, police officials, community policing members and labourers cleared the area of all structures erected as well as tape and other debris used to mark off the land grabbers’ stands. According to information, some people claimed and “registered” up to nine different pieces of land. One woman, who said she had claimed three stands, referred Review to a friend who had claimed four stands, and might be prepared to sell one of them. The woman, identified only as Brenda, was willing to sell the land she had just claimed free of charge, for R2 000, Review was told. Some of the land claimed already belongs to a community property association, and claimants said they intended to occupy at least 1 500 ha of land. Jose Gouveia, a businessman from Mokopane who owns two farms comprising around 206ha, said he intended taking the legal route to have the people evicted from his land. He said he would apply for a court interdict and if the people did not want to leave his land, he would request the police to remove them. “I was prepared to sell the land to government some three years ago, but then the departments were put under administration and the purchase was put on hold,” Gouveia said. Michiel de Bruin, the legal representative of another private owner, Ernest Brenner, told Review that plans for the establishment of a township on their land, which exceeded 400ha, had already been approved, and planning of services was being done. He described the land invasion as a “crisis”. Brenner had obtained an urgent interdict against the illegal occupation. ‘EFF behind land grabs’ reviewonline.co.za Gaan kyk gerus op link met fotos
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 15:01:29 +0000
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