Over 50 Shacks on Tembisa Football Field Destroyed, Leaving Mzansi Divided: “The Struggle Is Real”

• More than 50 informal settlement dwellings were dismantled on a sports field in Kopanong, Tembisa
• Residents were unhappy with the lack of a recreation facility and are delighted to have the ground back
• Cllr Khathutshelo Rasilingwane said the City of Ekurhuleni would not tolerate criminality in the community

TEMBISA - The City of Ekurhuleni ordered the destruction of over 50 shacks on a sports field in Kopanong after being granted a court order.

The informal settlement began mushrooming in the area in 2019. The area was cleared out by the Ekurhuleni metro police department (EMPD).

Prior to the building of the shacks, the sports field was frequently used by community members. According to the City, residents were unhappy with the lack of a recreation facility and are delighted to have the ground back.

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Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Safety Cllr Khathutshelo Rasilingwane hailed those involved in the evictions. She added that the city would not tolerate criminality and thanked the community for their patience.

While the move was celebrated by law enforcement, a concerned resident spoke to TimesLIVE and said the removal of the informal settlements was illegal. He said the community has been in a land dispute with the City of Ekurhuleni since 2016 and recently won a court case against them.

The issues surrounding the destruction of the shacks have left social media users divided, with some sympathising with the informal settlement residents and others calling for the law to be enforced. Here’s what citizens had to say:

Solly Mothabela said:

“Landlessness must never be a ground for justification of anarchy.”

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Syabonga Blangwe commented:

“If you didn't experience how it feels to not have a place to sleep, then you will blame these people, the struggle is real out there.”

Puleng Seitshiro posted:

“People should learn to understand that you can’t just wake up in the morning and build a house anywhere you want hai! Man hence so many houses are being flooded.”

Maxi Afrika wrote:

“Why should people be deemed unlawful when occupying land in their own country? Who do the laws rendering land occupation by indigenous people lawless serve? Laws are supposed to help our lives work, we are not supposed to live to make laws work.”

Luis Guerreiro added:

“I blame the government for not doing the right thing, they have been using all this lawlessness as a smoke screen to cover up all their wrongdoings.”

"Land is a liability": ANC proposal leaked, citizens have their say on redistribution

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Briefly News also reported that the African National Congress (ANC) plans to ask farmers to donate portions of the land to allow for land reform and redistribution in South Africa.

An Economic Transformation Sub-Committee Policy proposal document was leaked and details on how the Department of Land Affairs will form a Land Reform and Agricultural Agency were disclosed.

The document was prepared for the ANC policy conference, which is set for July. The proposal emerged under the backdrop of the ruling party’s failure to change the constitution to be clear on land expropriation without compensation.

Source: Briefly News