Family’s fears of eviction allayed
The Masina family is also worried about 16 family graves on the portion of land.
An 83-year-old man and his family are about to lose the only place they call home, if their allegations and suspicions are anything to go by.
Zembe Masina (83) has worked and lived at Twyfelaar farm outside Carolina for more than 60 years where he worked for the previous farmer, Jacobus van den Berg, and two other farming families who have all allowed him to keep his livestock on the farm.
Mr Masina and his two sons, Vusi (43) and Themba (30), are concerned that they were never informed of the entry of Pembani Coal Carolina (PCC) onto the farm where the company has been blasting around the area, causing damages to their houses. They are accusing the mine of trying to dispossess the family of the portion of the farm they live on and have approached the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to investigate.
“Our suspicions stem from the harassment by mine officials who have on several occasions warned our father not to build further on the farm, as we would be evicted soon,” said Vusi
Themba added that they have been to different government departments in search of help to prevent PCC from evicting them, but said all the attempts drew a blank. He has also put the blame squarely on the Chief Albert Luthuli Local Municipality for failing to intervene.
“We’ve had several meetings between ourselves, the mine and the municipality about our situation and nothing has come of it,”said Themba. He also blamed the municipality for not providing basic services to the farm where, he says, there has never been running water and sanitation. Instead, they are forced to share water with livestock.
When approached for comment, PCC released a statement saying they bought the farm in 2009 and the Masina family has been living on their property rent free. Despite the warning by PCC that the land now belonged to the company, the family proceeded to build an additional home in 2011.
PCC dismissed allegations of damage to property, explaining that in 2013 limited mining activities took place at two separate pits on the property, about 700m from the Masinas’ house, at no stage impacting on their homes.
The Masina family is also worried about 16 family graves on the portion of land. According to them, an assessment done two years ago recommended that the graves be fenced by the mine, but this has not been done.
In June, the family registered a land claim for a portion of the farm and received an acknowledgement letter from the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights.
PCC responded that they do not envisage any impact on the graves or homestead, given that the mining activities will take place in excess of 500m from their structures and graves.
PCC said they have no intention to evict the Masina family, nor to oppose any land claim. However, the company seeks to foster constructive and positive relationships with the stakeholders, particularly neighbouring communities.
Mining activities are planned to begin at the same pits and will be completed in 2016 and rehabilitation will be done concurrently with mining. Pembani Coal Carolina is 100 per cent owned by the Pembani Group with multiple shareholders and holds investments in a number of businesses in the energy, resource and cement sector.
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