EVATON.-The visit follows a recent protest by concerned residents of Beverly Hills who complained that there was illegal occupation of land in the area and that some had erected shacks which resulted in bringing down the value of their bonded houses.
Following the visit, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement confirmed that there has been fraudulent activities of stands being sold and built on without the approval of the municipality.
According to the Department, Gauteng Provincial Government purchased about 777 serviced sites intended for building RDP houses for qualifying beneficiaries in 2018 in the area.
“The Committee of the Beverly Hills rates payers raised concerns when the Provincial Government decided to allocate these serviced sites to qualifying beneficiaries of the Rapid Land Release Programme (RLRP) in Evaton.
“Concerns raised by the committee included illegal selling of land by known individuals within the area, illegal connections of water and electricity by illegal invaders causing them to pay more for services.”
Residents further complained that the bonded houses are registered as RDP Houses and the list of the RLRP beneficiaries comes from people outside their ward, adding that RLRP will undervalue their properties.
Human Settlements said that a complainant approached the Public Protector regarding the ownership of the land and the outcome favoured the provincial government’s position, dismissing the allegation.
Maile confirmed that a criminal case was opened with the police to deal with illegal selling of the land. He further stated that a court order has been granted interdicting, and restricting anyone from erecting, attempting to erect or completing any illegal structures on the land.
‘The State Attorney has initiated the process of eviction and is currently waiting for an update on service of the letters by the Sheriff.
“Illegal invasions are counter-developmental as they deny qualifying beneficiaries their right to occupy land and housing that is legally theirs and they also sabotage and delay government housing developments aimed at addressing the growing housing backlog. It is for this reason that we will be unapologetically enforcing the eviction order.”
