GEORGE PROPERTY NEWS - For the past few months Thembalethu has been subjected to several attempts to grab land across the township and in some cases, police had to be deployed to disperse the land grabbers.
The most recent incident happened on Monday, when attempts were made to occupy the private land behind the Thembalethu police station.
Most of the land in question is said to belong to private individuals or companies. The national debate on land expropriation without compensation might have triggered these land grab attempts in Thembalethu, however, some believe that this debate is often misunderstood. Moses Mtila is one of the land owners who was targeted by land grabbers.
Mtila, who owns land near Trunz butchery and near Thembalethu Primary School, faced a number of people who attempted to build shacks on his properties in August. These people marched to the George Municipality on 31 August to hand over a memorandum to the mayor saying the land doesn't belong to Mtila and that one man can't own so much land. Mtila told Idinga that the land does belong to him and that he has proof of ownership. He said the reason he has left the land vacant for so many years is that he has been struggling to get funds to build a small business hub on the land.
"The ANC-led government encourages us to build small businesses and encourages local economic development, but the very same people want to take over the properties which are earmarked for such developments. The project I want to achieve with that land will benefit Thembalethu people in the long run," said Mtila.
He expects building on the business hub to start early next year as he has now managed to gather the funds needed to start construction of the building.
Other land tussles
On 3 August young people from Bungalow in Zone 1 also joined the ranks of those protesting for land, demanding land situated near Africa Skills. The youth were met by a heavy police presence who shot rubber bullets and tear gas to prevent their intended actions. Stones started to fly, Ntaka Street was barricaded and tyres set alight by the protesters.
A structure belonging to a ZCC church was set alight and tyres were burnt in front of Councillor Langa Langa's house. The police fired rubber bullets, stun grenades and tear gas trying to disperse the crowd.
The councillor managed to calm down the protesters, informing them that the land in question is already earmarked for development.
Xola Swapi, one of the leaders of the June protests over water and electricity at Mandela Village, was the spokesperson of a recent group of land grabbers. Asked why they are occupying the land, he said they have waited for land long enough. "We are tired of being sent from pillar to post by authorities, we want land now," he said.
THIS WEEK
Idinga is still trying to establish who owns the land that was invaded on Monday. It was initially believed that it belongs to Airports Company South Africa (Acsa), but it has subsequently been said the owner is Air Traffic & Navigation Services (ATNS). ATNS is yet to confirm this.
On Wednesday 26 September, a small group protested for service delivery at Mandela Village in Zone 8, burning tyres. The police have contained the situation and is monitoring it. No arrests were made.
Swapi distanced himself from this protest, saying he has no knowledge of the incident and that his activism has always been peaceful.
'We bring you the latest George, Garden Route news'
