A group of Gauteng farm residents is up in arms against plans to develop their area, which they claim is a plot to evict them under the guise of community development.
Sipho Qondani and his partners plan to rejuvenate a portion of Plot 6, at Tarlton, in Mogale City. They plan to do this by providing improved housing and tarred roads with official street names.
Bongani Mooi, a community leader, said residents had been permitted to stay on the land by the father of Peta la Grange, who used to operate a brick manufacturing factory there.
Residents permitted to stay on the land by former employer
Mooi said after the company shut down, La Grange offered his former employees a piece of land and bricks to build their homes. The agreement came with a verbal agreement that they would pay for water.
“We have lived here for many years and have raised families here. Now someone comes and tells us that we cannot build any more structures or renovate our homes. He says because he has plans in place for the area, which include leaving us homeless,” said Mooi.
However, Qondani insisted that he attempted to involve the community in the development plans. He proposed that all residents contribute money monthly to buy the land they occupy.
Developer blames residents
“Some said they were just here to work and were building homes back in their villages. Others said they couldn’t afford it due to their foreign nationality,” Qondani told Sunday World.
La Grange distanced himself from the saga. He said he tried to negotiate with the municipality to purchase Plot 6 for the people living there.
Mogale City mayor Lucky Sele confirmed the municipality had tried to buy parts of the land. However, it was only able to secure funding for other areas in Tarlton. He also emphasised the new landowner was legally required to inform residents and the municipality about the pending eviction.
Law protects tenants against arbitrary evictions
“The rights of the people to tenure and the landowner’s commercial interests need to be balanced through negotiation. We cannot have a scenario where one trounces the other. In a situation where parties cannot reach common ground, the courts will be the final arbiters,” Sele told Sunday World.
Long-term farm and labour tenants are by law protected against arbitrary evictions. The Extension of Security of Tenure Act and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants Act) (No 3 of 1996) protects them. This gives labour tenants security of tenure or ownership of the portion of land that they use to live on.
