Fed up with waiting for RDP housing, a large group of people moved to occupy a vast expanse of land near Molweni, in Durban’s Outer West region, on Tuesday.
eThekwini spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa said on Tuesday afternoon that the Land Invasion Unit was ware of the matter.
“A team has been sent to address the situation,” she said.
The DA’s Tex Collins, who was the ward councillor for the area for several years, was at the scene on Tuesday.
He said the party condemned land invasions and that they were against the law.
But, Collins said, the local community was desperate.
He said when the Inanda Dam was built several years ago, around 300 families were displaced.
He said they were relocated to temporary accommodation and promised RDP houses.
Decades later, though, their children and grandchildren were still waiting for homes.
Collins said the land they attempted to occupy on Tuesday, was actually earmarked for RDP housing.
Meanwhile Mthethwa said the city had noted a sharp increase in the number of illegal land invasions and would “do everything in its power to protect rights of residents and businesses within the ambits of the law”.
“We are a caring municipality but we cannot allow lawlessness to prevail. In as much as we recognise and protect human rights we also have an obligation to protect community interests,” she said.
“While the municipality has great sympathy for those like the complainants who find themselves in need of housing, the city has a backlog of housing estimated at just over 400 000 units. When opportunities are available in Greenfields sites like Cornubia, these will be advertised in the media.”