MAN, 3 DOGS LEFT IN COLD AFTER STRUCTURE DEMOLISHED

NGWENYA – A man and his three dogs were left in the cold after his structure was demolished by the Ngwenya Town Board yesterday.

Abel Manyisa (59), a squatter at Nkhungu informal settlement, was left in the open after a grader belonging to the town Board demolished his stick-and-mud house. Manyisa claims to have lived in the structure situated at Nkhungu for over 30 years. He alleged that he was warned about the demolition process, but was told by one Brenda Dlamini, an employee of the town Board, to vacate, as they would be demolishing the structure. The town Board Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Phumzile Shabalala, said all the squatters were aware that the farm belonged to government.

Squatters

Shabalala said Manyisa’s case was completely different from the other squatters, as the structure was on a plot that was allocated to someone in 2013, who had a farm grant. She said the farm grant belonged to Zano Investments and the owner bought it from government. However, she said since 2017, they had been communicating to Manyisa that the structure was wrongly placed, as the plot belonged to Zano Investments. “Fortunately for us, Manyisa said the structure did not belong to him but the Mtshalis.” She said the town Board approached the Mtshali family after Zano Investments informed them that they wanted to use the property.

Allocated

Shabalala said the Mtshali family wrote them a letter, requesting to be considered and allocated land in the new residential area. She said the town Board acknowledged receipt of the letter and informed them that government was still in the process of surveying and pegging the land, hence requesting to be given time. The CEO said the town board did not know Manyisa, but the Mtshali family. Shabalala said Manyisa and the Mtshali family should sort out their differences. Meanwhile, giving a brief background of Ngwenya, Shabalala stated that it was a mining town in the early 60s and the owners left the country, handing over the land to government. Shabalala said the area which was now occupied by Manyisa and other squatters was earmarked for development. She said following a survey which was conducted in 2017, they discovered that most the squatters who were employed by the mine took advantage, which was how they ended up owning land there.

According to Shabalala, some squatters, who were labourers at the mine, did not have houses, as these were not enough. She said labourers were then granted permission to construct temporary structures to live with their families. “Even those who were not employed by the mine then took advantage,” said the town board CEO. She said government then decided to expand the area under Farm 1209, into a development area. Shabalala said this was the same area which had squatters and the project was delayed as the town Board engaged them (squatters) for resettlement. The CEO said the town board, along with the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade and that of Housing and Urban Development, were currently addressing the issue of development.

She said the town board, together with the stakeholders, came up with the proposal of human settlement. In 2021, she said government allocated a portion for resettlement of the squatters.
This portion of land, she said, was known as Nkhungu Township. Shabalala said, however, there were still 16 households that were still displaced, whereby, Manyisa happened to fall under. These households, Shabalala said, needed to then be accommodated inside the newly-developed Nkhungu Township. According to the CEO, the 16, who were outside the industrial area line would definitely be removed.

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: