Task team meeting on Alex land impasse

The Alexandra Land Task Team, which comprises land activists from the township and Gauteng government and City of Johannesburg officials, will meet on 30 October 30 at the Sandton offices of the municipality.

Secretary general of the Alexandra Land and Property Owners Association, Jacky Segopa, whose organisation is a joint member of the task team along with the Alexandra Property Owners’ Rights, said discussions will be held about the restoration of title deeds in the township which were usurped by the apartheid government.

Among the deliberations expected to heat up emotions will be the proposal for the restoration of 150 properties, a move which Segopa dismissed as falling far too short of the more than 300 land claimants. According to Segopa, the Gauteng government and city officials believe there are only 150 genuine land claimants, hence their decision to only award those.

He said their decision was based on an erroneous audit which was conducted by the Alexandra Renewal Project more than a year ago and cost the taxpayer R25 million. “We are not going to accept a decision to award only 150 claimants. I expect sparks to fly in this meeting,” he said.

Segopa accused the Gauteng government of negotiating in bad faith. “They negotiate with us but secretly approach our members as individuals, and seek to lure them to accept a compensation of R50 000 to forgo their land claims,” he said.