WeeklySA_AdminINVASION: Demolishes 54 houses illegally built on its land
By Thuli Zungu
The MidVaal Local Municipality has demolished nearly sixty houses that have been illegally built by a construction company that had constantly flouted municipal by-laws by selling houses and land to consumers in an area that is not suitable for development.
The municipality is at loggerheads with the company, Ntha Properties over five pieces of land where the building construction company has illegally sold and built houses to unsuspecting clients.
After ignoring several warnings by the council to stop the operation, the municipality recently obtained a court order and demolished 54 houses at Plot 116 in Elandsfontein in a bid to stop the company from continuing with its operations.
Weekly SA Mirror visited the area this week and interviewing residents proved to be a mission hard to accomplish. Instead most of them peeped through the windows when we asked for interviews. Some said they were too scared to talk to the media.
Others told us that one of their neighbours who was their spokesperson, was recently killed by anonymous people.
Those who said they wanted someone to intervene and stop the Midvaal municipality from demolishing their houses, spoke on condition of anonymity.
“We are scared and we don’t know what will happen to us after you have left,” they said after the sales agent showed face.
All the residents in the area are pensioners and those who had been retrenched and who had used their pension pay-outs to build homes for themselves.
One pensioner said he paid R285 000 to have his house built. The area does not have water supplies and one of the pensioners said he stored his water in a zozo tank and has also installed two solar panels so he could have electricity. The whole plot does not have water and electricity supplies.
Homebuyers who have been conned into buying the illegal houses and land are those situated at plots 106, 107, 108, 109 and 116.
Nkahiseng Moloi, 40, recently cancelled her contract after it emerged that the houses were built illegally and would soon be demolished by the council. Moloi said she felt more aggrieved when told she can only get her refund after 60 days even though the contract does not have this waiting period clause after cancellation.
Residents said securing a meeting with the owner had proven futile. He recently sent his lawyers to address them and resolve their problems but these lawyers had no answers to their grievances.
Dikeledi Maruping said she also cancelled her contract in June this year after being informed that the houses were going to be demolished by the municipality but she still had not received her refund of R53 000 she had paid in November last year. No land had been allocated to her at the time of cancellation, she said.
The Weekly SA Mirror team was this week stopped from conducting interviews by the sales agents who accused us of trespassing and told us we needed permission from Kabelo Rangaka who owns the construction company.
They also threatened to beat our photographer Mohau Mofokeng, when he tried to seek clarity on the houses that were being demolished. Construction company owner, Kabelo Rangaka has continuously ignored our telephone calls for comment. He also ignored our email and text messages.
Lynda Parsonson of the Midvaal Development and Planning department, said the municipality had over the past two years informed and warned home buyers about the illegal housing development on a farm in Elandsfontein by Ntha Property Developers. She said they had requested the company to cease the construction and comply with the necessary town planning and development processes but they failed to do so.
“Due to the noncompliance, illegality and risk associated with this development the municipality followed the due legal processes and successfully obtained a court order to demolish the housing structures on site.
The houses were demolished on July 27 this year by the municipality in conjunction with the Sheriff of the Court, said Parsonson .
She said the company refused to follow due processes that ensured the safety of the occupiers, availability of infrastructure and confirmation of structural suitability of the buildings for occupation by the municipality .
(See Page 5)
