The Westenburg Community Development Forum has a court inderdict against them by the Polokwane Municipality over the use of land in Ext 40. This follows various protests over the years by the forum with some dating back to 2016.
On 24 August, the forum invited members of the community to sign up for a stand and proceeded to allocate while structures were erected.
Ray Goulkan, Chairperson of the forum, told Polokwane Observer that the community was not engaged over the use of the land and none of the beneficiaries were residents of Westenburg.
“This is the last possible extension of Westenburg, it does not make sense to allocate the stands to people from other areas when there is a need for housing in Westenburg.”
Since the illegal occupation by the residents of Westenburg, the municipality posted security personnel at the entrance of the extension to prohibit anyone from entering.
The municipality also got an urgent interdict instituted against the forum which the forum has tried to oppose.
“We feel that this was an attempt to silence us, considering the legal fees involved in opposing a matter in court. We however, will not give up until the community has been allocated the piece of land.”
Municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala has confirmed that the matter is in court but declined to comment saying,
“The matter is being dealt with by our legal team.”
According to Goulkan, the judge ruled in favour of the urgent interdict by the municipality and others, but granted it on an interim basis.
“She felt that there is an imminent threat of land grab and thus gave order to guard against that.”
The case is rescheduled for 4 February 2021, where further arguments will be heard. Goulkan says this means the community is not allowed to arrange gatherings or put up any form of structure on the contested land.
“We are not derailed by this interim ruling and as such will consult broadly to pursue matter further.”
Story: Umpha Manenzhe
