Residents raise concerns over land use violations

VEREENIGING. – The issue had already been raised during a previous public meeting late last year and residents were waiting on the MMC for local economic development and planning, Mbuyiselo Kantso, and the speaker’s office to give feedback regarding concerns raised during the previous meeting.

Neither Kantso nor the speaker, Sibongile Soxusa, attended the meeting.

Instead, the Emfuleni Local Municipality sent three lower-ranking officials, William Mokoena (manager of the department of building control), David Banza (assistant manager in the department of building control), and Anton Mojapelo (of the department of land use management and town planning) to address residents regarding the issue.

The officials proceeded to explain their role, how they deal with complaints regarding land use violations, and how land use violations can be reported.

Residents feel that the municipality is letting them down when it comes to preventing land use violations and enforcing bylaws concerning land use violations.

According to Shayne Wellman, a concerned resident who has been looking into the issue of land use violations in the Three Rivers area for the past 15 months, the Emfuleni Local Municipality is not performing its mandated role of dealing with land use violations.

This has in turn led to unchecked development and places a burden on existing infrastructure which has not been upgraded accordingly to compensate for illegal developments.

Wellman explains that land use laws are important for a neighborhood’s well-being as they help to keep the area safe, organized, and attractive to investors and possible new property owners.

According to Wellman, these laws regulate the construction of buildings to ensure they are safe for people to live in and prevent dangerous or unpleasant activities from being located near homes.

Wellman explains that these laws also help to prevent overcrowding and promote social cohesion by sensibly separating different uses.

According to Wellman neighborhoods can remain good places to live and visit, reduce crime, and improve overall safety by upholding these laws.

Wellman says he has compiled a list of 81 land use violations over the Emfuleni Local Municipality. He has already submitted these complaints and even wrote to the speaker’s office about them.

Despite this, no action has been taken and land use violations are seemingly allowed to continue.

Using the term “low hanging fruits” Wellman explained that these 81 land use violations were just ones that were fairly obvious and fairly easy to spot. According to him, there are many other such violations.

During the meeting, it was suggested that a building moratorium be imposed as a means of resolving this long-standing issue. This action would have the effect of halting construction projects, at least until the issue of land use violations has been addressed or infrastructure has been upgraded to accommodate new developments.

Judging by a show of hands many of the ward’s residents support this course of action.

The officials present indicated that they would look into the complaints regarding land use violations.