About 90 homes illegally erected on municipal land were demolished in Senwabarwana, Polokwane, on Monday after a court order.
According to the Blouberg local municipality, the occupants allegedly paid R7,000 for each stand to an individual claiming to own the piece of land.
“As the municipality, we are enforcing a court order to the illegal occupants of this land, which belongs to the municipality.
“The occupants bought sites from an individual who claimed to own this piece of land. We engaged with them for more than three years but did not reach any conclusion. That is why we took the legal route and a court ordered the illegal occupants to remove their structures.
“The court order was issued last year and today we are enforcing it through the sheriff of the court. We are removing all illegal structures erected here,” said municipal spokesperson Peter Moruthane.
Municipal manager Refilwe Ramothwala issued a notice on Sunday warning the illegal occupants about the demolition.
He warned that in an effort to address illegal land occupation the municipality would demolish the illegal structures on the farm Bochum144 LS and 145 LS and the remaining extent of the farm Borkum 143 LS.
According to Ramothwala, on October 19 2021, the Limpopo high court in Polokwane ruled: “All people unlawfully invading the farms are directed to remove all structures erected on the mentioned farms within 72 hours from October 19 2021.”
He said it stated that if the illegal occupants failed to remove structures on the farms, and/or failed to vacate the property, the municipality, with the authorities, were authorised to remove such people and remove all structures.
Ramothwala said the municipality had previously given notices to the illegal land occupants informing them of the court ruling.
“The illegal occupants failed to comply and the municipality was left with no option but to enforce the court order,” he said.
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About 90 homes demolished outside Polokwane after illegal land purchases
Image: Supplied
About 90 homes illegally erected on municipal land were demolished in Senwabarwana, Polokwane, on Monday after a court order.
According to the Blouberg local municipality, the occupants allegedly paid R7,000 for each stand to an individual claiming to own the piece of land.
“As the municipality, we are enforcing a court order to the illegal occupants of this land, which belongs to the municipality.
“The occupants bought sites from an individual who claimed to own this piece of land. We engaged with them for more than three years but did not reach any conclusion. That is why we took the legal route and a court ordered the illegal occupants to remove their structures.
“The court order was issued last year and today we are enforcing it through the sheriff of the court. We are removing all illegal structures erected here,” said municipal spokesperson Peter Moruthane.
Municipal manager Refilwe Ramothwala issued a notice on Sunday warning the illegal occupants about the demolition.
He warned that in an effort to address illegal land occupation the municipality would demolish the illegal structures on the farm Bochum144 LS and 145 LS and the remaining extent of the farm Borkum 143 LS.
According to Ramothwala, on October 19 2021, the Limpopo high court in Polokwane ruled: “All people unlawfully invading the farms are directed to remove all structures erected on the mentioned farms within 72 hours from October 19 2021.”
He said it stated that if the illegal occupants failed to remove structures on the farms, and/or failed to vacate the property, the municipality, with the authorities, were authorised to remove such people and remove all structures.
Ramothwala said the municipality had previously given notices to the illegal land occupants informing them of the court ruling.
“The illegal occupants failed to comply and the municipality was left with no option but to enforce the court order,” he said.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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