Minister of Human Settlements Lindiwe Sisulu says land invasions will continue to remain illegal during Level-4 of the lockdown. She also added that eviction of tenants will also be illegal. From Friday the country moves to Level-4 of the lockdown which will see some industries reopen, but in the main restrictions on movement will remain.
People who do not form part of the workforce of industries reopening, must remain at home and only venture out for essential services. Sisulu formed part of a media briefing in Pretoria on the socio-economic relief interventions.
“Eviction is equally illegal so nobody is allowed in this period to invade land that they find vacant which is what most of our people like doing. Evictions which are done especially by those people who feel that either they are not getting any additional income from the people who live in their backyards or especially done by farmers in the Western Cape, this is completely illegal.”
Land invasion in Mpolweni, Khayelitsha
Sisulu says there are some people who have invaded land at Mpolweni in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats. Earlier this month a group of 49 families were removed from the land by the City of Cape Town, however, a court ruling ordered that those families be returned.
Sisulu says only those 49 families involved in the court proceedings are allowed to reside on the land and those who have since erected dwellings will be removed.
“Last week I had to go down to the Western Cape to solve a problem where there had been evictions of people who had lived there. At least 49 families had lived there legally but were evicted by the police, the matter was taken to court, thankfully the court judged in the favour of the 49 families and they have been taken back to their home in Empolweni. However, there are people who’ve now taken advantage of the fact that 49 families were allowed to live there and they’ve now invaded. What we are going to do is to go and remove them with the proper necessary documentation from the courts and take them back to where they supposed to be.”
In the video below Minister Lindiwe Sisulu says land invasions will not be tolerated:
Water tanks stolen
Meanwhile, Sisulu, says there have been some problems in distributing water tanks to various communities across the country, with some tanks being stolen. Sixteen thousand tanks have so far been distributed throughout the country. As the country battles the COVID-19 pandemic, water is critical in stemming the spread of the virus.
People need water for hand washing and general sanitation. She says communities that still do not have water must alert her department on 0800 200 200.
“We have up to now provided in the region of 16 000 tankers throughout the country making sure that on a regular basis we fill those up and provide water to those areas. We’ve had a bit of a problem in the installation of some of the tanks, please do not steal those tanks. Those people who do not have any access to water please call us so that we can locate where you are, we can locate your municipality and make sure that you do have water. It’s a toll-free number.”
Below are some of the lockdown restrictions:
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