Gauteng MEC of Human Settlements Lebogang Maile says there has been notable and concerning increase in illegal land invasions since the announcement of the lockdown by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
This follows the ongoing “evictions” of alleged land grabbers in Lawley, south of Johannesburg.
SA LOCKDOWN REGULATIONS
No person may be evicted from their residence, regardless of whether it is a formal or informal residence or a farm selling for the duration of the lockdown. pic.twitter.com/eZ3BJBh4nR
— Lindiwe Sisulu (@LindiweSisuluSA) April 18, 2020
Government has put a moratorium on evictions during the lockdown. However, Maile says they are dealing with organised criminals.
“Criminal syndicates taking advantage of legitimate housing needs within communities during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis have been behind the rise in illegal land occupations around the province. In Johannesburg, there have been illegal land grabs in places such as Alexandra, Ennerdale, Devland, Freedom Park and Lawley, Diepsloot and Roodepoort amongst other areas, whilst in Tshwane, there is a sprawling, two-week-old informal settlement around Ga-Rankuwa and reports of invasions around Atteridgeville. “
In the video below, MEC Lebogang Maile says the SAPS is investigating land invasion syndicates:
Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has called on police to arrest any opportunists who use the ban on evictions during the coronavirus lockdown to invade vacant pieces of land.
Sisulu says further unlawful land invasions will undermine the progress the country has made over the past few weeks to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Dunoon is one of the 29 densely populated informal settlements identified across the country for re-blocking to contain the spread of the COVID-19.
— Lindiwe Sisulu (@LindiweSisuluSA) April 20, 2020
The Human Settlements Minister on Monday visited the Du Noon informal settlement, in Cape Town, to assess the area’s readiness for the so-called “re-blocking”, should the need arise.
Around 1 000 households could be moved to state-owned land. Sisulu says the re-blocking, which will make the area less dense, is aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.
“The MEC wanted to show me, together with HDA (Housing Development Agency), the place that we have acquired that will make it possible for us to be able to re-block this informal settlement called Du Noon. It’s long overdue and I’m glad that we are going to do it. My emphasis has been when when when, so that when we give out the information we give hope to our people that we are working day and night to make their lives a little better,” Sisulu said during the visit where she was joined by representatives from the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements.
