KwaDukuza granted court order against illegal dwellers
KwaDukuza Municipality has been granted a high court order to act against the illegal occupation of municipal land.
It was granted on Tuesday, as a team was sent out to Shayamoya in the Rocky Ridge Project area to demolish several informal dwellings that have mushroomed this week.
The municipality's Sifiso Mageba says it's an ongoing issue that has put a spanner in the works of its development plans.
Mageba says the land has been earmarked for building houses but can't be done when it is illegally occupied.
"They are saying whatever plans the municipality has must be put on hold because they are now occupying the land. It becomes impossible to put services even if you want to build houses for people.
READ: Shaka's Head informal settlement ‘illegally occupied’
"First, you must have them on the list of beneficiaries. Now when people go there, there is no process of registering them. Secondly, you need to put services - road infrastructure, bulk water, electricity and sanitation, but you can't do that once people put up informal structures."
Mageba says the public needs to help protect municipal land, as it's bought with taxpayers' money for the benefit of communities.
"It is their development, and it is for their own good. Let them allow the municipality to help them develop in their areas, and when this land is taken away, then there is no possibility for their own development."
Earlier this week, the Abahlali baseMjondolo, a member of the shack-dwellers movement, led a march to KwaDukuza municipal offices over what it called forced removals of informal settlement residents.
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