ILLEGAL sand mining and land invasion in the areas of Cliffdale and Bothas Hill have raised concerns among land owners and community leaders.

The ward’s PR councillor Mxolisi Khubisa said these are not isolated incidents as there have been several reports on it, prompting a written intervention to the SAPS, the eThekwini Municipality’s Land Invasion Unit, the Durban Metro Police and other stakeholders.

Khubisa said what is required is a “co-ordinated enforcement” of “existing legal measures”.

“Communities deserve to see visible law enforcement on the ground, not ongoing destruction. Illegal sand mining and unlawful occupation undermine lawful development, harm biodiversity and place lives at risk, particularly in a province that has already suffered devastating floods,” said Khubisa.

Land invasion claims

Reports of alleged land invasion and the fraudulent selling of land have also emerged from the Shongweni area, with land owners left feeling helpless.

According to Khubisa, these criminal activities are in violation of certain legislation and municipal by-laws.

The area’s ward councillor, Linda Mchunu, said he is aware of one incident of alleged land invasion which was brought to his attention by the local police last year.

Mchunu said the matter was now being handled by the Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).

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The municipality’s marketing and communications deputy head Gugu Sisilana confirmed that the municipality is aware of the issue.

“A complaint was received in November 2025, and a subsequent inspection conducted in December 2025 confirmed that mining activities were taking place.

“The matter was referred to Operation Phakisa and the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE), the mandated authority responsible for regulating and enforcing compliance related to mining activities. The complainant was also advised to lodge a formal complaint through the DMRE portal.

“While the site falls within the Durban Metropolitan Open Space System (D’MOSS), it is privately-owned, and therefore the municipality does not have the legal mandate to enforce mining compliance. Any allegations related to the fraudulent sale of land must be reported by the complainant to the South African Police Service for criminal investigation,” said Sisilana.

The KZN SAPS media centre and KZN Cogta had not responded to enquiries on the matter.

Meanwhile, DA member of the KZN legislature, Hannah Lidgett, said the party has written to the MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Reverend Musa Zondi, to demand that immediate action be taken “against rampant illegal sandmining taking place across the province”.

“The DA has conducted oversight inspections at the Valley of a Thousand Hills and along multiple sites on the Umhlanga River, where the environmental destruction is severe. In the Valley of a Thousand Hills, entire hillsides are being levelled, creating dangerously unstable terrain that poses a serious risk of landslides during heavy rainfall. This destruction is also harming tourism, as businesses overlooking the area are witnessing the loss of the natural landscapes that attract visitors,” said Lidgett.

She said “no meaningful action” has been taken despite an inspection by the national portfolio committee on Mineral Resources and Energy, and she has accused the SAPS of failing “to intervene effectively”.

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