Hammanskraal residents unhappy about demarcation issue robbing them of development
"If the president cannot address the issues we have raised here, then we will be left with no choice but to go to court."
A group of Hammanskraal residents, unhappy with the local water crisis and other service delivery-related issues, marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to hand over a memorandum of demands to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday.
The residents, as well as various civil movements, have also threatened court action against the government unless the issue of demarcation in the area is addressed.
Thusa Setshaba Forum chairperson Tidimatso Molati raised concerns about the Babelegi industrial area and other issues related to demarcation.
“Babelegi is underutilised,” he told Rekord.
“It is 5% capacitated, 95% unused and there are no tenants. There are no tenants because there is no proper infrastructure and that is the government’s responsibility to build infrastructure to attract investors.
“Babelegi is currently under the North West government, but is demarcated under Gauteng. We have two provinces fighting for the area and the community is suffering,” Setshaba said.
“The Gauteng government does not budget for Babelegi, because how do you budget for infrastructure when the tenants will pay another government? Equally, the North West government does not improve Babelegi because how do you improve something that is owned by you but falls within the boundary of another province?
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Setshaba said Hammanskraal used to fall within the jurisdiction of the North West province; “however, it has since been re-zoned to fall within the City of Tshwane and consequently, Gauteng province”.
“Despite this, our industrial sites and commercial sites, including some residential houses are still administered by the North West Development and Housing Corporations respectively, which are public entities of the North West province.
“Our magistrate’s court is still under Moretele, North West. Thus we are expected to accept the Mafikeng High Court, which is more than 300km away from Hammanskraal as our High Court seat; yet, Pretoria High Court, which has jurisdiction over all of the City of Tshwane, is a mere 50km away in the province in which we are demarcated,” Setshaba said.
“We respectfully say that Hammanskraal residents accepting Mafikeng High Court as their High Court seat is tantamount to the denial of access to justice.
“We submit that the industrial site should be revitalised, and residents should be put back to work. The government has long promised that jobs would be created. However, with every year that passes, more jobs are lost and more youths are left unemployed.”
A member of the Bakoni community forum, Lesego Moletsane, said their concerns were issues that are entrenched in the constitution.
“The issue of water is a constitutional matter; people have a right to clean drinking water, but we do not have clean water and proper infrastructure. There are people who are living under conditions so bad that these government officials would never survive them,” Moletsane said.
“It seems like wherever we take our problems, we are not being taken seriously. So the President is our last resort.
“If the President cannot address the issues we have raised here, then we will be left with no choice but to go to court.”
A resident in the area, Abram Mahlanhu, said it was worrying that other townships like Mamelodi and Soshanguve are far better off than their township, but all of them are in Pretoria.
“We do not get development in our area because of the rezoning issue. We are treated badly in Hammanskraal, especially with the water problem. Even the dirty water that is offered to us, is sometimes not there.”
A representative of the Presidency, Vincent Ngcobo, received the memorandum from the residents and said they would respond to issues raised.
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