WATCH: Glen Marikana residents are going nowhere – for now
The occupants had until October 1 to vacate the land
Glen Marikana residents will remain Glen Marais residents for another four months.
This was heard at a public meeting led by ward councillor Jaco Terblanche at the Dutch Reformed Church on Huggett Street on Thursday evening.
The meeting about the delay in the relocation left residents with a bag of mixed emotions. Both concerned community members and residents from Glen Marikana attended the meeting.
Terblanche said the relocation deadline had been extended by four months as an environmental impact study was not in place.
An eviction order for the residents of Glen Marikana Informal Settlement had been granted by the High Court in Johannesburg on November 21 last year. The occupants had until October 1 to vacate the land they have occupied since the end of 2017.
According to Terblanche the new deadline is February 1, 2020.
“The extension is due to the study not being in place. This was discussed at a meeting on September 16 among myself, the speaker of Ekurhuleni Patricia Khumalo, MMC of human settlements Lesiba Mpya, caucus leader of the DA Phillip de Lange and the legal representatives of the owner.
“The meeting was called by the speaker after the committee of Glen Marikana and I went to her for assistance. The land owner agreed to the postponement but he made it very clear that he would not allow another extension and that he would oppose any such application after January 31, 2020.”
Some were unhappy about the feedback while others raised concerns with one of the leaders at Glen Marikana.
They felt the residents needed to reduce noise levels over weekends, stop burning rubbish in skipper bins on a daily basis and take down the empty shacks at the settlement.
