Alberton North’s illegally invaded land, Funny Farm informal settlement, home to more than 100 dwellers, is authoritatively labelled as Alberton’s hotspot.
Despite various reports and questions asked to different stakeholders by the Alberton Record in the past, years later and without much progress, there are requests from locals to close down the place confirmed to belong to the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE).
Various bodies, spearheaded by DA Gauteng shadow MEC for Education, Khume Ramulifho and Ward 37 councillor Ivan Naidoo, conducted an oversight inspection on June 22.
The DA has received numerous complaints from concerned residents and businesses about allegations of criminal activities inside the property.
This follows a recent story aired on Carte Blanche. Now, locals demand a permanent solution to the GDE property.
A court order to evict these illegal occupants was issued in 2014. However, to date, they have not been evicted. The occupants have erected shacks and are charging a rental fee.
ALSO READ: Successful arrests made at Funny Farm
Member of Parliament Khume Ramulifho said when interacting with businesses and the security cluster, they indicated that this has been ongoing for a while and that this is a crime hotspot.
“We believe if the GDE takes this land back, crime will decrease drastically. When people commit a crime in Alberton, they all hide here. We want a joint relationship between the department of education, City of Ekurhuleni, human settlements and law enforcement to ensure that they enforce law and by-laws,” he said.
After engaging with a GDE official, he said he was informed that they were aware of the issue and had started some processes. However, the matter is with state attorneys.
Ramulifho assured he will take the matter up with the MEC to get an idea of how long this matter will take and what steps were taken.
Ward 37 councillor Ivan Naidoo said: “This has been an 18-year-old issue. Since I took over, together with Willlie Basson a resident, we met with the education department and wrote to the MEC. I want to sit around the table and get all the relevant parties involved. We need to find a permanent solution.
ALSO READ: Man dies in Alberton North’s Funny Farm
Businesses are willing to invest in the area, but you can’t invest if cables and cars are stolen every time.”
Ins-and-outs of Funny Farm
In each of the homemade household spaces some rooms, separated by curtains only, have at least four to five occupants.
There are allegations that occupants are vandalising the electricity substations which has led to residents and businesses being without power for days.
There are also reports of criminal activities inside the property such as drug dealings, noise pollution and illegal shebeens.
In an exclusive interview, a resident who just moved to Funny Farm told the Alberton Record that allegations about the settlement were true.
“People donate stuff such as blankets and as they leave the people will sell it. The stories of babies being sold are true, which is something I’m against. At the moment there is one pregnant lady that stays here.
However, there is a caretaker who tries to get things in order. In some rooms you have to pay rent, which is unfair because this is no one’s property, he explained.
He said the property is unhygienic as it only has one tap, which is why people keep getting sick.
Criminal elements
EMPD spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Kelebogile Thepa, confirmed there have been numerous arrests from the property.
Some of these arrests include unlawfully trading in liquor and a few unroadworthy vehicles found parked and idling on site were also removed.
They have disconnected illegal electricity connections and have attended to noise pollution complaints.
“We suspect that evacuation, with the housing of deemed to be destitute, would have to be conducted by the human settlement, social development departments and other relevant stakeholders,” said Thepa.
She said they held a meeting on February 24 to see how the challenges could be resolved.
“The EMPD Alberton precinct management, have met with the initial complainant Mr Basson and representatives from the GDE Mr Links with Mr Ernest. We are anticipating results from the GDE officials, following the meeting,” Thepa said.
Tyrone van der Merwe of CPS Security confirmed there are several drug activities taking place in the settlement.
ALSO READ: Successful arrests made at Funny Farm
“We are here every week with Alberton SAPS, EMPD and law enforcement looking for suspects. The people living in this area have been involved in a lot of incidents in Alberton North and surrounding areas. Many times we have found stolen goods and drugs here,” he said.
Just recently, he said they removed a stolen vehicle from the settlement.
Petition
Resident, Hennie Grobler said it is clear that no one is taking responsibility for this situation.
“It should have been cleaned and cleared up 15 years ago. They should relocate the people to a decent place. There is a court order for the eviction and relocation of the people, but nothing has transpired,” he said.
Grobler said the municipality promised the High Court on July 7, 2014, that the matter would be resolved.
He reiterated that since then nothing has transpired.
ALSO READ: Man dies in Alberton North’s Funny Farm
The National Assembly’s Portfolio Committee received a petition dated February 11, 2020, from Mr Willie Basson, writing on behalf of Ward 37 residents.
The petition called for the national assembly to investigate the illegal occupation of Funny Farm. In response to the request, the committee called the City of Ekurhuleni to brief it on the matter on June 3, 2020.
The portfolio committee on cooperative governance and traditional affairs then made recommendations, including that the then executive mayor should initiate engagement with all the involved parties, as well as report to the committee two weeks after the date of the petition’s hearing.
Grobler also said residents should stand together to ensure that their community is restored to the stunning city that it once was.
