Mooibank residents have been up in arms since learning they are due to be evicted no later than Friday, 31 March. On Tuesday, 28 March, residents gathered outside the council chambers demanding answers.
They also submitted a letter of their demands to the municipality. Before recently finding out about the latest update, the residents say the last information they had about the eviction was when they heard they must be evicted by 31 January 2023. “We were prepared to be evicted, then the mayor told us he was going to ask for an extension, and we have not heard anything since then,” community leader Charles Lekgetho said.
Initially, the J.B. Marks Municipality’s application to remove the occupiers from part of the land was granted in March 2021, but due to the state of disaster, this order was lifted. After the state of disaster passed, the occupiers remained.
However, on Thursday, 9 March, an order was issued in the Mmabatho High Court, requiring the illegal land occupiers of Mooibank to be removed from the area on or before 31 March. The national and provincial departments of agriculture and rural development agreed to the order.
Potchefstroom Agricultural College currently uses the land in Mooibank. However, the residents say they were unaware of the new eviction order and do not accept the court order. According to them, the mayor Gaba Ka Qhele agreed to inform them where they would live as soon as it was established that the municipality planned to move them to another area. In a meeting with the residents last year, Ka Qhele said the issue of informal settlements was urgent and assured them that the municipality aimed to provide the residents with basic services first.
“They have really failed us,” another resident who asked to remain anonymous said. “Every day, it is a different story. When we were here last week, they said wherever they move us next will be another temporary place. How do they expect us to live comfortably when they could move us out any time,” she lamented
Video: Ntsoaki Mokete
In the current situation, residents lack access to water and sanitation. They fear it will be the same where they go next. Mpho Givit, who has lived in the community for a year, fears what comes next. “Many of us who live here work close by. Moving us further away will be a great inconvenience,” she said. “We use the little we have to put food on the table and make ends meet. There is no way we can include transportation costs, especially since it seems like they plan to move us further away.”
In the past few months, the land occupiers have protested about the issue, blocking roads and causing damage to residents in the area. Lekgetho threatened more protest action if they are moved from the area to Klipdrift as mentioned.
As the legal representative of the Potchefstroom South Property Owners’ Association, Cindy du Plessis submitted a successful application on behalf of the residents in October 2022 to remove the illegal occupants by 31 January 2023. When this did not happen, Du Plessis had to prepare a contempt of court application.
Three weeks ago, the MEC of Agriculture and Rural Development applied to extend the deadline to 31 June. The application further stated that the provincial department would replace the national department as the respondent that had to carry out the eviction. Du Plessis and Adv. Adrian Vorster spoke to the judge-president regarding the case, after which he ordered that the land occupiers must be removed on 31 March.
Pulenki Morake, another community member at the forefront of getting information for residents, says they are tired of being lied to. “What games are they playing?” she said. “We have already invested a lot of our lives here. Our children live near their schools, and others are closer to work here. It’s not that we don’t want to be moved; we’re just tired of being taken for fools. Instead of surprising us with an eviction, they should surprise us with work and better service delivery,” she said.
On Wednesday morning, 29 March, the municipality held a meeting, but no final decision was made regarding the eviction on 31 March. DA councillor Werner van Onselen confirmed there would be another meeting later on Wednesday afternoon where there would possibly be feedback.
This is a developing story.
