Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning

11.     The Department of Local Government initially established a Special Committee to assist municipalities to manage land occupations when the matter was escalated to them. The Committee comprised of the Department, the Department of Infrastructure, the South African Local Government Association, municipalities and the South African Police Services. The following documents were developed and signed off for implementation by the Committee, to aid municipalities in managing land occupations: a) An Operating Manual dealing with land occupations containing a Procedure checklist, Mandates, roles and responsibilities per role-player, Regulatory mechanisms and Standard Operating Procedures on Evictions; b) A Protocol document for Cross-boundary Cooperation Agreements and c) relevant judgements were shared. The Districts undertook to take ownership to appoint mediators to manage such cases. A draft by-law is still under consideration. Furthermore, an Integrated Safety and Security Operation Centre (Nerve Centre was established for the Western Centre (based in the City of Cape Town as basis) and Eastern Centre (based in Mossel Bay).

          The Department also approached the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) as the lead Department in the Province, in terms of these matters, to source further information in response to this question. DOI shared further specific inputs per Municipality as follows:

11(1) The City of Cape Town

There have been several land invasions which cut across several regions within the Metro. The list of areas that were affected are in Khayelitsha, Mfuleni, Strand, Southern regions (Phillipi, Gugulethu, Mitchells Plain, Masiphumelele, Langa, Parkwood) and Northern region (Du Noon, Scotsdene, Wallacedene, Bloekombos, Scottsville, Valhalla Park, Elsiesrivier).

           The relevant statistics are as follows:

Out of all the unlawful land invasions Du Noon, Driftsands, Maroela North and Monwabisi Park were the most affected areas. The total number of new structures that have been erected in these four areas between 2019 to 2024 are as follow:

• Driftsands: 8000 informal structures
• Du Noon: 5300 informal structures
• Maroela North: 8500 informal structures (Maroela Park: 6000 & Racing Park: 2500)
• Monwabisi Park: 6300 informal structures

Indicated on the table attached (DOI source document)

11(2)   The Department of Infrastructure works very closely with the City of Cape Town and Municipalities' law enforcements and the South African Police Services. The Department has also secured the services of private security to protect its properties. There are several cases open and court orders that have been secured to mitigate against the unlawful land occupation. In some cases, there are arrests that have been actioned by both law enforcement and SAPS. This Department has also secured several court interdicts against perpetrators, and some are also in the legal eviction process.

            Indicated on the table attached (DOI source document)

11(3) The land parcels that has been affected cut across the City of Cape Town and Provincial government land which were either earmarked for housing development or for other infrastructure development. There are few properties that were unlawfully invaded which belong to private owners.

The impact of unlawful land invasion has significant impact cutting across several areas in the Metro. In Du Noon, the land invasion has affected the Transnet rail corridor which is intended for a key role in the social and economic growth of the Metro. The unlawful land invasion impacts the local economy and future housing development and provision of basic services as structures are built in unsuitable areas.

The unlawful land invasion had an impact on those who have waited patiently for housing and will have to wait even longer as sites are lost to illegal land occupations and new sites need to be identified and budgeted for. The City of Cape Town and Province was impacted to an amount of R1.3 billion worth of housing development sites that are currently threatened due to invasions.

The Planned and funded projects negatively impacted by land invasions for the City of Cape Town are:

• Maroela North, Kraaifontein
• Backstage 2, Khayelitsha
• Mahama Infill projects (5 projects) in Khayelitsha

Total project value to date R134.2m

Total number of housing opportunities no longer available to date: 3257

The provincial DoI projects that are affected by land invasion are:

• iThemba, Mfuleni: 2400 housing opportunities
• Welmoed, Penhill: 8000 housing opportunities
• Airport Infills, Gugulethu: 729 housing opportunities
• Driftsands, Mfuleni: Planning of housing development is not yet known, still in in inception stage.

The service delivery projects are placed on hold, depriving residents of critical infrastructure upgrades, i.e. the R162 million water infrastructure upgrade project in Khayelitsha. The projects are in jeopardy, impacting thousands of law-abiding residents in Khayelitsha who are relying on this pipeline for improved water, furthermore:

• The City of Cape Town does not have the resources to cater to newly formed settlements often immediately asking for services, at the expense of planned service provision.
• Land occupied is not necessarily suitable for human habitation (residential use) e.g. Nature Reserves, rail reserves, or flood-prone areas
• Long-term operating cost for provision of Basic Services (water, sanitation, solid waste removal, electricity) is affected
• Reduced value of the land e.g. Housing projects, Nature Reserves; Road reserves, Biodiversity sensitive dunes, community sites, parks, etc.
• Legal Fees: Court order; Eviction application and provision of Emergency Housing afterward.

Indicated on the table attached (DOI source document)

11(4) Vacant structures have been removed in areas in terms of a court order obtained. The City of Cape Town has also escalated illegal invasion matters to the Presidency. The City of Cape Town has removed thousands of temporary boundary pegs used by illegal occupants to demarcate properties for themselves. The SAPS and law enforcement continue to assist with removal of vacant structures. The use of video and photographs assist to conduct operations.

• Measures were taken on the occupied land parcel; and
• The Province and the City of Cape Town obtained eviction orders which are done as follows:
  • Issue notice to Vacate to those who illegally occupied the land.
  • Compile and apply for eviction to court: emergency
  • Court Hearing:
  • Receive eviction Order:
  • Eviction Enforcement: Law enforcement executes the warrant and removes the illegal structures and materials from the government properties.

  Indicated on the table attached (DOI source document)

         11(5)  The future strategies or policies aimed at addressing and mitigating the occurrence of illegal land invasions across the Province are:

• The Department of Infrastructure (DOI) identifies hotspots and frequently monitors these areas.
• There is an active engagement at the War Room with inter alia City of Cape Town, Law Enforcement, Anti-Land Invasion Unit, Problem Building Unit, Displaced People Unit etc. twice per week to coordinate efforts to deal with land invasions.
• Relationships being established through the War Room aim at creating an early-warning system to prevent land invasions and illegal occupation through constant communication, collaboration and coordination.

• Fencing of properties and arranging monitoring through security patrols.
• Cleaning and boarding-up of vacant buildings.