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Traditional leaders, politicians and civic organisations that encourage or facilitate illegal land occupations could face fines of up to R2m under a draft Bill currently before parliament.
The proposed amendments to the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act of 1998, form part of the government’s efforts to curb land invasions, building hijackings and unlawful occupation of state and municipal property.
The proposals were outlined during a public hearing in Mthatha on Tuesday.
The hearing comes amid growing concern over illegal occupations in the city.
It has been reported that more than 100 buildings in Mthatha, including factories, warehouses and state-owned residential properties, have been hijacked by criminal syndicates, with some allegedly rented out to tenants without permission.
Addressing the meeting at the Mthatha Town Hall, national human settlements department senior legal officer Judgemore Tshikomba said the proposed law sought to target those who orchestrated unlawful occupations rather than ordinary occupiers.
“Those people do so in exchange for money. Now we are adding a new second offence.
“This one involves people who organise people to occupy land without taking money.
“It can be NGOs as they are known to represent the needs of people.
“It can also be political leaders who are also not allowed to influence people to occupy land without permission,” Tshikomba said.
“The other critical thing we are saying now is that a court can determine a fine of up to R2m.
“Who is going to pay this R2m? It is not the ordinary unlawful occupier of the land.
“It is those people who are influencing the unlawful occupier to occupy the land without permission.”
Tshikomba said the amendments were also aimed at tackling the growing problem of hijacked buildings.
“You must have seen burning buildings on television and those people are staying with their children. There are elderly people and disabled people.
“Most of those buildings were hijacked and they are not safe for people to reside in. Those buildings do not even have municipal services.
“Hence we are saying we want to take control back so that municipalities do not become spectators.”
She said courts would be required to consider a municipality’s ability to provide alternative accommodation before granting eviction orders.
Municipalities would have to present plans outlining available land, temporary accommodation and financial resources to house affected residents.
“This means the municipality will have to be in court to present its own plan because the courts are already telling us how we must provide temporary shelter to people,” she said.
The Bill would also require municipalities to provide alternative accommodation for vulnerable groups, including elderly people, people with disabilities, child-headed households and women-headed households when eviction orders were executed.
Tshikomba said temporary accommodation would have to respect family structures and basic human dignity.
The draft legislation further proposes compensation for people who unknowingly buy land from individuals falsely claiming ownership.
According to Tshikomba, buyers who are later evicted could sue those who misrepresented themselves as owners, while proceeds from illegal land sales could be seized by the state.
She said authorities were aware of cases in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo where people had been persuaded by traditional leaders to buy land, only for their homes to later be demolished because the land had been occupied unlawfully.
The issue has been particularly contentious in Mthatha, where illegal land occupations have fuelled the growth of informal settlements, especially in Mthatha West.
About three years ago, a house reportedly worth close to R1m under construction in Southridge was demolished by the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality after officials said it had been built illegally on municipal land.
Earlier this year, KSD mayor Nyaniso Nelani raised concerns about land invasions during a mayoral lekgotla attended by human settlements minister Thembisile Simelane.
Nelani said the municipality was planning housing developments for upper-, middle- and lower-income earners in Mthatha, Mqanduli and Coffee Bay, but illegal occupations were undermining development.
He described land invasions as a cancer, particularly on land not owned by the municipality.
“If it is ours, we are quick to defend it, but the people [land grabbers] are clever; as soon as they realise it is not ours and belongs to someone else, they pounce quickly.
“But we have become aware of this and are now busy crafting a municipal bylaw to effectively deal with the issue of land grabs,” he said.
Simelane told the lekgotla that poor planning and a lack of capacity in municipalities often contributed to the growth of informal settlements.
She said municipalities that failed to develop vacant land created opportunities for illegal occupation.
According to Simelane, about five-million people live in informal settlements across SA, prompting the government to explore alternative building technologies to accelerate housing delivery.
“The scale of housing demand and urgency [to provide housing] requires [us] to adopt alternative building technologies as a pillar,” she said.
Daily Dispatch
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