THE BULAWAYO - CHRONICLE - 22nd NOVEMBER 1974. COLOUREDS SEEK FAIR PRICES FOR THEIR LAND. (CHRONICLE REPORTER) The Forestvale/Helenvale Association yesterday threatened to take its case to court unless Bulawayo municipality offered residents fair prices for land wanted for African township expansion. City council officials and councillors - including the mayor, Clr. C.M. Scott - were told this when representatives of the association met them at a special meeting yesterday. Mr. J. van Beek, the chairman of the association, said residents of the Coloured townships were, on average, being offered half what their land was worth. The council has agreed to reconsider the matter, he said in an interview after the meeting. RESOLUTION Forestvale and Helenvale are flanked by the two expanding African townships of Luveve and Njube. Proposals to resettle the Coloured residents are not opposed in principle by the association. a memorandum submitted at yesterdays meeting included a resolution adopted at a meeting of 200 of the residents on October 6. The resolution says the residents appreciate the significance of land expropriation in terms of current legislation and the possibility of eventually being squeezed out by the convergence of African housing. But we feel it is unfair that such a threat should be used as a lever merely to persuade owners to sell out their life investments in a panic at a cheap price, purely for the purposes of expediency, the resolution says. VALUE In terms of personal ownership, the value of these properties cannot acceptably be measured according to councils rateable valuation. This was because the residents were not interested in selling of their own accord. The town clerk, Mr. E. Wright, confirmed that the matter would be reconsidered by the council.
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 00:25:36 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015