Land grab in Tshwane highlights challenges

A land grab in Tshwane highlights the challenges that such action brings.

In August, open land in Olievenhoutbosch was illegally occupied after a tweet by the EFF in Gauteng inviting people to “get land for free”. The initial group was removed, but many have returned to the area and rebuilt their dismantled shacks.

EFF chairperson for ward 77 Peter Seolela said the first eviction occurred in early September but people returned within a few days.

“People are staying there. We don’t have a specific number but you are looking at over 3,000 people that are there.”

He views the area as an informal settlement and said they are in the process of formalising it for residents to get basic services.

“We have already started with the grading and opening of access roads and we have already negotiated with various taxi associations with the process of helping people with mobility,” he said.

Seolela said the land was vacant for many years but now that people have started occupying it, “suddenly there is an owner”.

“They [owner] wanted to develop that place for low-cost housing, which will deprive the poorest of the poor of access to land [those living for free on the land now]. Those people are not going away.”

City of Tshwane spokesperson Sipho Stuurman confirmed illegal occupation of land in Olievenhoutbosch was continuing.

He said the municipality has an anti-grab land unit within the metro police which it believes is working “quite well” with the limited resources at its disposal.

“Previously we did send our teams to prevent land invasion and we were successful in removing some of the illegal land grabbers. However this is continuing. The reality is that TMPD doesn’t have enough resources to be in all the regions of the city monitoring land invasion.”

He said when the land is privately owned, the onus is on the owner to apply for a court interdict.

“I have been told that the private land owner has gone to court over the situation and we are one of the respondents in the matter as the City of Tshwane.”

The land owner, Gavin Dullisear, said: “Everything is in the hands of the court at the moment and my attorneys. I actually don't have anything to say about it right now.”

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