GALLERY: The challenge of vagrants and squatters
RUIMSIG – Squatters and vagrants are often associated with loitering and crime.
Land invasion and squatting have been one of the severe challenges affecting residents in various suburbs.
Some property owners have complained the building of shacks in close proximity to their properties, posed a danger to the community.
Others remarked that shacks near their properties could lead to a decrease in value of their properties.
Roodepoort Northsider also reported on a few incidents of illegal land invasions in the area.
Below are some of the top incidents that were published during 2015:
It was in 23 January when Taylor Road squatters in Honeydew Manor faced eviction.
The deadline of 2 February was set by the landowner for squatters to move out of his land.
The land owner had been granted an eviction order, that gave him the right to execute removal on the said date.
On 29 January the first group of squatters were moved to their new homes, in Ruimsig Informal Settlement. About 16 of the 25 families were relocated to Fleurhof, a mixed-income housing development project, situated on Main Reef Road in Roodepoort.
On 19 February Taylor Road Squatters who had been moved to Ruimsig Informal Settlement, were stuck for more than two weeks without proper sanitation and water.
The Department of Housing spokesperson Bubu Xuba, promised that preparations were underway to get additional water and sanitation to the new section of the informal settlement.
A dangerous incident occurred as anger erupted on April 29, when [more] residents were relocated from Taylor Road to the Ruimsig Informal Settlement.
They were not happy with the shacks that the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Housing built for them.
EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi also warned that the shacks posed a huge safety risk, especially in case of fire.
On 24 July concerned residents of townhouses and cluster complexes on Hole-in-One Avenue grew increasingly frustrated over the sprawling shack land on their doorstep.
In Wilgespruit, residents who had illegally built their shacks on private land were removed by Red Ants on 30 August.
Land owners Anna and Andries van der Walt warned a group of about 200 land invaders on 29 August prior to the eviction.
On 31 August the land invaders who were forcefully removed from Plot 323 temporarily relocated to their previous Plot 16.
