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Tensions high over Emandleni reblocking – Part 1
Corruption denied
The City Times spoke with chairperson of the Emandleni committee Petros Sithebe, who denied the corruption allegations against the committee.
“There is no problem in Emandleni,” said Sithebe.
“We had to move some of the shacks because of the reblocking, electrification and other developments happening in the area.
“The people speaking about corruption do not want to move across to accommodate the developments and are speaking rubbish because they just want to annoy others.
“We are not selling the land or anything else to the people.
“The committee has been in place for a long time and I joined as chairperson in 2006.
“There seems to be a problem as people are making this a political thing and want the committee replaced with a new one.
“People are putting politics ahead of looking for a way to work together.”
When asked about who the residents of new Emandleni are, Sithebe said it is only the residents of old Emandleni who have been moved across to the vacant land.
Wetland Confirmation
Korsman Conservancy chairperson Jane Trembath confirmed the area surrounding new Emdandleni is indeed a wetland.
The City Times submitted a photo of the area to Trembath, who deduced the following:
“Glenshaft Pan is definitely a wetland because it is on the SA National Wetland Database,” she explained.
“Any development should have a water-use licence.
“According to the Coordinated Waterbird Count (CWAC) website, it hasn’t had a bird count for several years at least.
“On CWAC, pans are sometimes differently named, but it doesn’t look like it has been counted.
“Also, a comment several years ago by a BirdLife South Africa expert said it was degraded back then.
“There are several indicators of a wetland, even when you cannot see the water, such as the vegetation and the type of soil.
“The plants in these pictures are common reed (phragmites australis), which is a wetland plant.”
Letter
A resident from Actonville Ext Four sent the below letter to the the City Times regarding the wetland in the area.
“On June 2, residents of Ext Four, Actonville, accompanied EMPD officers to a previously empty ground adjacent to some of the area’s residential homes.
“This was in response to complaints regarding a few shacks that had come up on the property.
“The residents were unprepared for what they were to discover.
“Not clearly visible until then, construction vehicles were in operation and a large amount of land was being levelled.
“It was discovered that a contracting company had been enlisted to complete a project involving the relocation of residents from a nearby informal settlement.
“Nearby, in this instance, is actually a few 100m away, with the new location separated from the old by a water body (the Glenshaft Pan).
“Residents hastily tried to get answers and put an immediate pause to developments until a public participation meeting could be held, which would thereby allow residents to raise concerns that they had around the development.
“The local councillor was approached and claimed to have been bypassed in the process with regards to the new development taking place.
“Concerns raised was met with a response of council having a limited budget and working time;because work could not be halted (even temporarily).
“In fact, work on the land continued at a ferocious pace. Within a few days, hundreds of shacks had been erected.
“On June 6, it was noted that some shacks were now near the road and directly across from residents’ homes.
“On the same day, a petition was handed over to the MMC for Human Settlements.
“The petition noted a number of very serious concerns, including the safety of residents at the newly occupied land.
“Until now, no official response has been given,” said the resident.
“To gain an understanding regarding the complete lack of consideration in the decision-making process on this issue, it should be noted that the area is a wetland, and that the pan (water body) around which the informal settlement now completely encircles is home to various bird life.
“A blogger noted that 15 different bird species were identified in just a quick 15-minute visit to the pan, this was despite the informal settlement at that time being very close by.
“It should also be noted that there was still a very active bird presence in the area during the visit mentioned above (made by residents and EMPD).
“The pan is also best known for the spotting of the asiatic dowitcher in 2004; a sighting that caused quite a stir at the time among bird enthusiasts, as it was the first-recorded visit of the bird in Africa.
“Sadly, no feasibility study has been done on how the land and pan will be affected with the latest developments.
“These more directly affect the pan due to the aforementioned encirclement, thereby leading to significant concern around the impact that pollution and other factors may have on this sensitive ecosystem, one which could be acting as a key feature for temporarily dormant and migrant species, possibly placing it under threat.
“Additionally, no known study has been done showing how residents in the newly erected shacks will be impacted during rainy periods (or any other period for that matter).
“This highlights just one example of the shortsightedness on display with regards to the latest developments.
“Many years ago there was a promise that the informal settlement would be moved and individuals be given proper housing. This did not occur, rather the flourishing of the settlement continued at an exponential rate.
“There is also a grave concern that Ext Four will be completely immersed and is now or will shortly be an extension of the informal settlement.”
The resident said the petition handed to the MMC raised the following points:
• Traffic control and congestion
• Safety and crime – possible increase of major and minor crime rate increase due to unemployment levels
• Impact on valuation of property
• Safety of shack dwellers due to proximity to electrical power lines and pylons
• Land, air and noise pollution
• The further flourishing of shacks
• Suitability of land, given the area is a wetland area
• Conservational aspect
• Concerns around reports of land being sold unlawfully within informal settlement
“We urge and request any party, organisation or individual who can assist us to please send an email to extension4Actonville@gmail.com
“Action is required to create a viable alternative for residents of Ext Four, the informal settlement and the environment,” said the resident.
Further questions regarding the development was addressed to the metro, the response for which is yet to be received.
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