Westville residents will petition the eThekwini Municipality to deal with land invasions after attempts were made to build informal dwellings “at their doorsteps”.
The full details of the petition were discussed at a residents’ meeting attended by Deputy Mayor Fawzia Peer on Monday night.
The meeting comes after apparent land invaders started clearing a forested area on the border of Berea West and Chesterville from Saturday.
Municipal spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said their land invasion unit had gone out three times.
“On Sunday the invaders were found clearing land. When our members tried to stop them, they became violent. The invasions are ongoing and we have members monitoring the area and attending to the matter.”
Chesterville’s ward 24 councillor, Sfiso Mngadi, said he had met with the so-called invaders who handed him a letter detailing the grievances which had led to the attempted invasion.
They complained of crime and whoonga smoking taking place on the vacant piece of land, saying building houses would clear this.
They also alleged that Westville residents used the land as a dumping site, among other grievances. “They had not brought these to my attention before they decided to take action, but now that I have been made aware, I will contact the community through the street and ward committees and make them understand the law,” said Mngadi.
He said people needed to understand that informal settlements were not a solution but a problem, in that they meant people living with no electricity, water �or sanitation.
“Next thing there will be illegal electricity connections, and in a few years they will march for electricity and formal houses, saying conditions in the informal settlement are not habitable,” said Mngadi.
According to the municipality, there is a backlog of 400 000 units still to be built, a number which stands to increase should the city fail to take decisive action to prevent the mushrooming of new shacks.
Westville ward councillor Warren Burne believes it is not only a need for housing which is spurring the invasions.
“The ongoing land invasions and encroachments are not by accident. It’s political arm-wrestling – there are people who are asserting their authority to just take over places. They are picking on DA-type areas and trying to make us look bad,” he said.
He called for the municipality to take action to identify the “ringleaders”.
“Until they spend some time in jail, this will carry on unabated. We are winning the war at the moment. The land invasion unit is doing a sterling job.
“This needs more political leadership to identify, prosecute and punish the ringleaders,” said Burne.
Mthethwa said, “Council adopts a zero-tolerance approach to land invasion and is committed to putting an end to this practice.
“No criminal act will go unpunished because land invasions halt our service delivery plans.
“The city does apply for court orders based on specific threats at that time.”
Peer, who is also the chairperson of the municipality’s security and disaster management unit, said the increase and intensity of the land invasions was concerning.
Peer had been very active engaging with the community of Crossmoor in Chatsworth, which has had to ward off invaders.
“There is no quick fix. Metro police have to come out of crime prevention to keep an eye on invaders, and the land invasion team closes at 3pm,” she said.
Peer said she would look into the possibility of extending the unit’s hours or increasing the number of members, as things were getting “quite intense.”
Mthethwa called on the public to report land invasions, which would, “protect and preserve land with the purpose of utilising it to unlock future development opportunities for the growth and sustainability of our city”.