The Municipality has spent more than R31,5 million on private security at the Mooidassie settlement site near Promosa and Dassierand.

This is according to a recent report tabled a council sitting.

Municipal officials said the contract was meant to safeguard municipal land and prevent illegal occupation. They argued that vacant, unmonitored land often becomes the target of land invasions, which in turn leads to the growth of informal settlements that later demand services.

“The Auditor-General highlighted that the municipality must urgently strengthen controls around the safeguarding of municipal assets. One of the most significant assets under threat is municipal land, which has increasingly become a target for illegal occupation and land invasions,” Jeanette Tshite, municipal spokesperson,  said.

She added that illegal settlements also contribute to unlawful electricity connections, which create safety risks and have added to Eskom debt running into millions.

“Preventing land invasions is essential to reduce financial losses and to protect infrastructure that communities depend on,” she said.

The municipality confirmed that security at Mooidassie cost around R1,5 million per month. The contract, which ran from April 2023 until it was cancelled in February 2025, totalled R31,5 million.

The municipality said the company is registered with SARS, compliant with the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), and that all guards on site were PSIRA-certified.

Questions were also raised about the procurement process. The municipality confirmed that the company was appointed on an emergency basis by the then Acting Municipal Manager, following a court order that compelled immediate action to secure the site.

According to Hans Jurie Moolman, DA councillor in JB Marks, it is unthinkable that this amount of money is spent on protecting municipal land, while not a single cent has been spent on building housing or infrastructure for the people who had to be resettled there.

“The municipality owns various properties and plots of land all over the city. There is no security at these places, and specifically not for the massive amounts that is being spent at Mooidassie. It is shocking, I think the municipality owes the community an explanation,” Moolman said.