A DA PR councillor, Mxolisi Khubisa, has raised concerns over activities on certain sites in Ward 103, which he described as “unlawful”, threatening to cause a “wide-ranging societal and economic fallout”.

One of these activities, according to Khubisa, is land invasion, which he said is increasing at an alarming rate and is becoming a “common practice”.

Khubisa said these have seen complaints from the public, including business owners, many of whom, the councillor added, consider the SAPS not proactive.

The other activity, said Khubisa, is sand mining, which he said continues despite efforts by law enforcement officers to prevent its occurrence.

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“SAPS have from time to time chased the invaders away from the site but this is not enough because the next day the same people will come out with more than 20 trucks a day to resume with their allegedly illegal mining. Grave situation

“On the other hand, there is illegal land occupation at a cemetery despite the municipality issuing a letter for them to vacate the land, but the number of houses that are allegedly illegally erected is still increasing on a daily basis. SAPS should not just chase the invaders away but arrests should be made.

“The unlawful invasion of land and illegal mining operations represent a severe breakdown of civic order, inflicting widespread and detrimental effects on community cohesion, quality of life, environmental integrity, and local economic stability. These unauthorised acts do not merely violate property laws; they create a ripple effect of instability that diminishes the value and future prospects of the entire area,” he said.

“The continuous unlawful land activities is a failure to comply with environmental authorisations and municipal by-laws, making the activity criminal under environmental laws, such as The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA), which places mineral resources, including natural sand, under the custodianship of the State, requiring a mining permit or right for extraction; the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA), which requires miners to obtain an Environmental Authorisation and comply with an Environmental Management Programme (EMPR) to mitigate harm; and Municipal By-laws, which regulate the hours of operation and noise levels.”

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