500 homes in Glenhills face bulldozers
With tears streaming down their faces, more than 70 angry residents protested in Murugan Road, Glenhills, on Monday morning to stop the bulldozers.
More than 500 homes in the west of Stanger face being bulldozed by the municipality, who say they are illegal.
The land in Glenhills was bought by the KwaDukuza municipality for the purpose of building houses, but people had long before been living there, some in substantial and expensive brick houses and some in tin shacks.
Many claim that they had been sold their plots by the previous owners.
With tears streaming down their faces, more than 70 angry residents protested in Murugan Road, Glenhills, on Monday morning to stop the bulldozers.
The municipality obtained a high court order on August 8 allowing it to demolish unfinished houses along Murugan Road in Glenhills to build about 1500 two-bedroom, low cost houses for legitimate residents of ward 13.
Although people who had started building on the property were given four months warning to complete the building of their houses, many apparently could not afford to do so.
On Monday morning one house was bulldozed before residents took to the streets, surrounding the bulldozer to stop other houses from being demolished.
The owner of the house that was broken down, Thobile Ndunakezi, said she took a loan to buy the land from the owner at the beginning of the year. The house was almost complete.
“We bought the land for R40 000. At first it was just a small tin house and it was not big enough for my seven brothers and sisters and my mother.
“We spent more than R60 000 to rebuild the house. There was already a roof and the inside of the house was painted. We planned to move in within two months,” she said.
After residents refused to leave the streets, they were told by KwaDukuza police to attend a meeting held at the KwaDukuza council chambers yesterday afternoon where their concerns would be discussed.
Although more than 500 families will be affected by the decision to demolish, only 10 people were allowed to attend the meeting. The Courier was told to leave the meeting as the aim “was not to expose but to discuss.”
One of the residents who attended the three-hour meeting, Pranesh Gayeyepershap, described it as a waste of time.
“The people who represented the municipality did not introduce themselves and they were rude and spoke down to us.
Do you want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us a WhatsApp message with your name and surname to 061 718 4438.
Please read our WhatsApp broadcast list disclaimer.
Join us on BBM at 59015786
Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
