City battles land occupation as restitution process drags on
By Matthew Hirsch/GroundUp
The length of time it is taking to settle District Six claims is leaving the land vulnerable to illegal occupation, creating difficulties for the City, although resettlement of the area is the national government’s responsibility.
In January, the City had to obtain a court order to prevent more informal structures being built at the Stroompies informal settlement next to Trafalgar High School on land allocated for ‘new order’ claims lodged between 2014 and 2016.
The land is unlikely to be developed any time soon, as it has been allocated to District Six claimants as part of a prolonged restitution process.
There were 2,650 successful land claims lodged before the first 31 December 1998 deadline, of whom 1,485 received financial compensation, and 247 have returned to the area. More than 950 homes are still set to be built in the area for the remaining claimants, but the project is stalled due to funding constraints.
An additional 749 people lodged “new order” claims in the second window between 2014 and 2016, but according to a court order, their claims may only be processed after all the land claims countrywide submitted before 1998 are finalised. As of July 2024, there were still 80,000 original land claims from 1998 (across the country) that had to be settled before the District Six “new order” claims could be assessed.
There have been several proposals for how to use the land until District Six claimants return, including turning it into a garden. Local ward councillor Francine Higham said the City is considering a new proposal by a non-profit organisation, but declined to provide details.
But Department of Land Reform and Rural Development spokesperson Linda Paige any proposal for using the land would have to be “adopted and approved by the majority of the remaining claimants” of District Six.
Sandile Mhlongo, who claims to have lived in Stroompie more than 20 years (The Stroompie settlement has only existed for a few years. ~ ed) , said the settlement is often raided by law enforcement officials.
Mhlongo said he would like to see toilets and taps installed at the site. At the moment, the only source of water is a stream running through the fence of the school.
Higham said the City’s offers of alternative emergency accommodation, at safe spaces or the Haven Night Shelter had been been taken up by a few of the occupants.
She said the City “remains deeply concerned about not only the living conditions of those occupying the property” on the edge of the school, but also about the effect that this is having on the learners of the school.
“Much of the land in question remains vulnerable to similar occupations, and the City spends a great deal of time and capacity monitoring this land as best we can,” she said.
This is an edited version of the original story published on GroundUp