Cooperate with us, mayor urges squatters who occupy land illegally
Modimolle-Mookgophong Mayor Marlene van Staden says squatters should approach the municipality instead, so the process of granting land could be put into motion.
LIMPOPO – The number of informal structures on illegally occupied land is becoming an expensive exercise for the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality.
Over the past three weeks, the Modimolle-Mookgophong Municipality has battled to contain the number of informal structures in all areas of the municipality.
This is according to the Mayor, Marlene van Staden, who added that the Mookgophong area seems to be the worst affected, with land which belongs to the municipality, Transnet, Public Works and Sanral illegally being occupied.
Van Staden said the municipality has already approached the courts twice and last week went to the Polokwane High Court to obtain an interdict to prevent people from illegally occupying municipal land.
“Residents must understand that the unlawful occupation of an empty piece of municipal land causes a town planning disaster for a municipality and will only deepen the hardships of the people who live there. These land occupations result in unsafe pit toilets, illegal dumping, and water contamination, which is not only dangerous to the land occupiers, but to all residents of the surrounding areas. In Mookgophong, we have also seen tampering with municipal boreholes, which obstructs the municipality’s overall ability to provide water to the community,” she said.
Van Staden said ward councillors and ward committees have been assisting the municipality to identify areas where shacks are being put up without permission, as they understand the harmful impact of these activities. None of the occupiers applied to the municipality for land.
“Had we received a collective application, we could have followed the correct town procedures before we allocated stands. It costs the municipality a lot of money to reverse their actions, which is money that could have been better spent on essential service delivery. I would like to plea with the residents to stop with these activities. We need to work together to ensure that our towns develop according to the prescribed procedures so that the roll-out of services and the granting of ownership can happen much easier and quicker.”
