Residents in Zandspruit are losing their patience when it comes to the illegal land invasions in the area, particularly land owned by the City of Johannesburg and private-owned land.
Ward 114 councillor Victor Mafinya said Zandspruit residents want the City and the government to tackle the land invasions in the area. “If people continue to occupying land owned by the City which is key for development in Zandspruit, that won’t materialise because some of the land and private land has been invaded, that land is for the people of Zandspruit, the leaders must protect that land.”
The community is engaging with the City, Mafinya said, “Myself and other community leaders are involved in the discussions and the outcome to those meetings may be made public by next week.”
The City manager office’s Aaron Abrahams said there is a unit that tackles land invasions. They do engage with not only the Zandrspruit community but with various communities around the city on the issue of land invasions.
Mafinya added that law enforcement is set to remove some illegal structures, and if the discussions with the City ends in a deadlock, ‘there will be shut down’.
Zandspruits residents want law enforcement to enforce the law and stop land invasions, Mafinya concluded.
Metro Police spokesperson, Chief Superintendent Wayne Winnaar said he is unaware of the possible shutdown in Zandspruit but added, “Removal of illegal structures is an ongoing process in all of the regions of Johannesburg including Zandspruit, it takes place regularly where illegal structures are taken down by the Metro police.”
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