Skoonplaas clean-up
Everything was abuzz at Skoonplaas Informal Settlement on Monday (July 20) when the Red Ants Security Forces arrived to demolish all the incomplete and empty structures.
This comes after the residents recently received a court document (notice of motion) to inform them that they would be removed from the property.
The application appeared in the Gauteng High Court on July 14.
The Red Ants were called in to remove all structures which are erected or are currently being erected in contravention with the court order.
The court ordered that the respondents are prohibited from:
- Selling any portion of the property.
- Erecting any further structures.
- Encouraging or instigating any person to construct any structure.
- All newly erected structures need to be removed.
“No residents were evicted and the original community wasn’t moved,” says Pierre Kruger, Gold One‘s group general counsel.
He adds an eviction order will only be sought against the people who illegally invaded the property.
The applicant, New Kleinfontein Goldmine (Pty) Ltd, trading as Gold One Modder East Operations, is in possession of the property by virtue of a lease agreement entered into with the Ekurhuleni Metro, one of the respondents.
At the inception of the lease agreement, there existed an informal settlement on and around the Skoonplaas property.
The metro provides water and sanitary services to the informal settlement.
In terms of the lease agreement Gold One may not, except for the original community, permit any informal settler to settle on the property.
They are also not allowed to permit any person to stay on, or occupy, the property or any portion thereof nor permit any cottages or kraals to be erected.
Since July 5, an estimated 400 structures have been in the process of being erected on the leased land.
Kruger says if one estimates the average members of a household at four, approximately one 1 600 people were attempting to illegally settle on the leased land in that period.
He says occupation of the property was not authorised by Gold One or the metro, and is accordingly unlawful.
Upon questioning by representatives of the applicant, some of the community members said they had to occupy land that was sold to them.
Kruger says they named the third and further respondents as the ones who sold land to them.
He reiterates that only incomplete and empty structures were demolished.
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