Minister Sisulu condemns the recent spate of illegal occupation of properties in various parts of the country
The Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, has condemned the recent spate of illegal occupation of private properties including land and housing units in various parts of the country with the recent incident taking place in Fleurhof. “The illegal act of taking occupation of housing units in Fleurhof, Johannesburg with the express intent of coercing government into providing housing for the illegal invaders on a preferential basis will never be tolerated”, said Minister Sisulu.
The Fleurhof Housing Development project is meant to address the housing backlog according to the housing database and the government will not tolerate those who seek to set back development and undermine the rights of other deserving people who have been on the database for many years waiting for their houses.
“While we acknowledge that we still have a backlog which we are tackling annually through the provision of housing opportunities; lawlessness will never be tolerated. We are happy that the City of Johannesburg is renovating units which have been vandalized and made an undertaking that these will soon be allocated to housing beneficiaries”, added Minister Sisulu.
National government has made provisions for the homeless people during lockdown and alternative accommodation has been provided under the auspices of the Ministry of Social Development.
The department is not going to tolerate criminal behaviour and opportunists that seek to undermine development and progress of housing delivery for those in genuine need of decent shelter.
Government will continue to use its limited resources to respond to the housing needs of the qualifying beneficiaries including military veterans who are still part of the housing backlog. The Minister believes that the country has a duty to honour its military veterans for the sacrifices and contributions they made in fighting for the democratic dispensation we all enjoy today; the least we can do is to provide them with decent houses.
Those who illegally invade private property and land parcels are committing a criminal offence and should swiftly be dealt with and removed to prevent anarchy from spreading to other municipalities. Law enforcement agencies must act in these instances.
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