Lethabo Park residents in Kimberley vow that no one will evict them
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Some angry residents occupying ‘Ghost Shacks’ at Lethabo Park, near Kimberley have vowed that no one will evict them. The residents say they have occupied the informal dwellings since 2019.
Tensions erupted in the area after Sol Plaatje Municipality officials allegedly refused to register residents for electrification of their shacks accusing them of illegally occupying the stands.
Residents say they moved into the vacant shacks which were erected by people who live in other areas and hope to secure a second property from government’s RDP project.
This has created a crisis for the Municipality which now cannot register the current occupants who were not the initial beneficiaries for services which include electrification.
“We dealt with ghost shacks, now officials want to show us they are in charge. What I am saying is we have a bylaw. There is a bylaw that says if you are not staying in a shack for six months it will be given to a beneficiary in need. That is a bylaw of municipality now it’s two years. We took people in because we have been writing letters to deal with it, they never came to us. This issue as the community, we took a decision that we want to live in peace. We gave people place to live in peace, we gave people place to stay,” a resident says.
” As a resident of lethabo Spark I was not provided with a box because ghost shacks are given preference,” another resident explains.
“If you get a place from government and you don’t go and stay there, you don’t go and stay there you must need a place,” another resident says.
Residents say they don’t have water and toilets. They say they have to relieve themselves in the nearby veld. The municipality says the issue needs to be resolved through a dispute resolution.
“The housing section with the municipality it is responsible for allocation of sites. So the double park issue of connecting electricity is to be resolved through a Dispute Resolution Committee individually. So because merits of these circumstances are not the same so that we can resolve the amicably. There are chemical toilets. They may be improved or additional toilets can be provided. In terms of electricity in Lethabo it is 80% in Lethabo Park of which that can be finalised in new financial year,” Thoko Riet, the Sol Plaatje Municipality spokesperson explains.
The municipality says engagements with residents are continuing.
Lethabo Park residents accused of occupying land illegally:
