Residents who have allegedly erected shacks on unmarked land next to Merafe Hostel might soon face the full wrath of the law.
According to Region D Urban Development spokesperson Mandla Mnguni, those residents have committed a crime and they can be heavily punished.
“This is what we call land theft and illegal occupying a private land, at first no one has given them the particular land to occupy and they broke the city’s land occupation by-law and that’s a criminal offence by its own.
“So, we will do a follow up and get an eviction note ad remove them from that land.”
Mnguni said: “There are electric cables and underground water pipes at that particular area and it is not meant to be a residence that’s why it was left the way it was.”
One of the residents who reside at the area, Nomonde Thwala (65) said she was invited to the area by her friends.
“I was renting a backroom in Mapetla and after my friends told me that they have a piece of land where they can build and erect shacks I got interested and came to view it.
“Then I fell in love with the area and I erected my own shack here back in 2012 and so far I don’t think I will ever move away because I have nowhere to go and anyone wants to remove us from here they better provide us with houses or legal stands.”
Mnguni said: “No one will be promised a house, people must learn to follow the correct procedure of land occupation and applying for Reconstruction Development Project (RDP) houses.”
