Stand-off at Townsend Park over proposed land sale, Ballito

Residents and land surveyors representing the Zululand Islamic Society knocked heads at Townsend Park, Ballito yesterday morning.

The team from 3No. Land Surveyors were there to survey the entire 15 000 sq meters of Townsend park.

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Furious residents stood their ground and refused to allow them to continue with the survey saying there was no supporting documentation from the municipality and the due process of public participation had yet to take place.

Umhlali SAPS also arrived at the scene and asked the surveyors to leave as they did not have written permission from the municipality.

Residents of Townsend Park plan to take a stand against KwaDukuza municipality’s decision taken in a council meeting in March this year to sell a third of the park to the Zululand Islamic Society.

Since that council meeting not much information has been forthcoming on the proposed building of a mosque singled out on a portion of land in Townsend park encompassing the indigenous forest that is home to the Butterfly park.

However, at a recent KwaDukuza municipality council meeting held in KwaDukuza town last Wednesday the matter on the disposal of Council properties was submitted to Council under the Corporate Services business unit.

The list of properties to be disposed of included the portion of land in Townsend Park valued at R3.6 million and the name of purchaser was listed as the Zululand Islamic Society.

According to council documents the date of application for the sale of the land is documented as 1 August, 2018 while the status on the matter is still in progress.

In recent months tempers have been high with local residents vehemently opposed to the sale of the 4 000 sqm of the 15 000 sqm public open space in the area which plays host to an array of recreational activities.

According to Council the sale of immovable properties approved for disposal has been in full compliance with the Municipality’s Supply Chain Management Policy and the Land Disposal Policy.

According to Zululand Islamic Society secretary Ntuthuko Isa Khowene the Muslim organization applied for a mosque in Ballito five years ago and it was only approved recently.

In his last statement to the press KDM media liaison officer Sipho Mkhize said there was still a process to follow before the ownership of the land was transferred.

“We still have to allow the MEC to comment and the place will then need to be rezoned.

“The public participation process will be carried out with residents.”

However, Ken Lever from the Dolphin Coast Residents and Ratepayers Association said there was no confirmation from the municipal managers office that registration of the 4000 sq meter of Erf 517 as an independent and separate stand had been submitted with the Surveyor General’s office.

“The land is still the property of the municipality and we do not know why the Zululand Islamic Society undertook to do the survey as the sale still has to go through public participation before it is finalised,” said Lever.