Shoba/ Bhanya dispute continues

IT SEEMS that matters are far from being settled in the KwaBhanya/Shoba dispute.
Members of the KwaBhanya community were called to a meeting, which was held at Cecil Emmett Hall on Saturday, June 13, but due to poor attendance the meeting had to be cancelled.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a way forward for these community members following the issues that arose regarding their land which was being sold illegally.
The land, which was being sold for between R3000 to R8000 for people to build homes, was initially part of the R24-MILLION land restitution project, which was handed out by former Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza in 2004 to the people of KwaBhanya.
The land included livestock, maize and wheat farms, and the community established the Hlahlindlela Trust to run these.
Numerous cases of conflict between the community and the board members arose.
Letters were written to the provincial land claims commission complaining about the conduct of the chairperson of the Hlahlindlela board.
In the midst of these conflicts, someone started cutting out and selling pieces of land.
A person, who it seems, was not part of either the board or the community.
Other issues were also pointed out such as the disappearance of a certain amount of money, which had been allocated to the KwaBhanya community.