Cape Town: At least 260 land invasion reports ahead of meeting with Sitole

The Western Cape government will be meeting with National Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Khehla Sitole on Tuesday, 4 August 2020, to discuss the spate of land invasion and violent protest action which has rocked unsettled parts of the province in recent months.

In a joint statement, the MECs for Human Settlements, Community Safety and Local Government appear to be at their wits end and have called on law enforcement to enter the fray to firmly address the crimes.

“It has become clear that those who are complicit and involved in these illegal events only have criminal intentions. This past weekend’s illegal invasion and subsequent damage caused at the Kraaifontein racing track is an example of this”, said Human Settlements MEC Tertius Simmers.

Western Cape talks tough on land invasions, wants action

Simmers said the City of Cape Town has had to deal with 260 incidents of alleged illegal land occupation between April and July’s lockdown.

More than R1,3 billion of housing projects are currently under threat from land invasions, government has said.

The MEC said she had engaged her colleagues and has called on the South African Police Service (SAPS) to demonstrate to citizens that they will not allow the acts to continue

“They have a duty and more so now under the current regulations to uphold and enforce the laws of the country”, he said.

Meanwhile Simmers’ community safety counterpart, Albert Fritz said his department would help coordinate the relevant law enforcement agencies’ in responding to the attacks.

Fritz: ‘Land invasions are well planned’

Fritz said the current land invasions taking place were highly coordinated and sophisticated in their execution – adding that in many cases, the land being occupied is already designated for services aimed at developing the communities.

“I condemn the violent protest action surrounding many of the land invasions in the strongest terms. It is completely unacceptable that infrastructure such as roads and arterials are being damaged by tire burning and that the safety and wellbeing of residents is further being infringed on by the stone throwing, petrol bombs and other violent and dangerous behavior”, he continued.

‘Municipalities are under strain’

The MEC for Local Government and Environmental Planning Anton Bredell said as a result of the land invasions, a number of municipalities across the province are under immense strain, which impacts ongoing projects, service delivery and existing community facilities.

“Our communities deserve to be protected and these illegal actions cannot be tolerated. The rule of law needs to be respected and enforced and the South African Police Services must step up and apply the law to serve their communities”, Bredell said.