Churches land ruckus

Tshwane church leaders awaiting land parcels for their churches have accused Tshwane’s executive mayor, Solly Msimanga, of lying and making empty promises about the awarding of their land.

The Democratic Alliance-led Tshwane administration has stopped the process to award land parcels to churches saying the reason is that corruption is involved.

However, the ANC Youth League (ANCYL) said the DA should stop crying corruption and rather expose it if and when they have facts and evidence. Bishop Ephraim Nkosi of the Hero’s of Faith Church Ministeries International in Bronkhorstspruit said their battle with the City of Tshwane started when the DA took office. “We have applied for land and this guy [Msimanga] has promised to give us land parcels, but unfortunately he never kept his promise.

“In Region 7 in Bronkhorstspruit only five people were awarded land, but here are rumours that these sites will be taken back by the City,” Nkosi said. Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) on agriculture and environment Mike Mkhari said it is true that issuing sites to churches have been halted, but only for now. “There has been a lot of corruption that came in where people have been given land for churches – and later you find that they are no longer using the land for a church,” Mkhari said.

“We have stopped the process, so that we can come up with a clean process that is fair and transparent,” Mkhari said.

The ANCYL leader in the greater Tshwane region, Lesego Makhubela, said the previous ANC administration had already completed phase one of handing out the land to deserving churches, and that was before the DA city council took over the administration. “For phase two, the City was going to install the electricity, but then the DA took office and it never came to being.

“Now the DA talks about corruption. Well, let them prove it and expose those who are corrupt,” Makhubela said.

– virginiak@citizen.co.za

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