DA KZN: EFF's Ballito ‘land grab' must be treated as a criminal act

13 April 2015

THE DA in KwaZulu-Natal strongly condemns recent land grabs by the EFF in the Ballito area.

The move is further evidence of the party's inability to have a proper debate around land reform - increasingly apparent as the party lurches from one cheap publicity stunt to another.

Acts such as this do nothing to advance meaningful debate around critical issues and could, in effect, harm the economy and investor confidence. 

The DA is also disappointed by the SAPS response to this particular incident. The attempt to seize privately owned land is a criminal act and we expect more decisive action from SAPS officials.

What the situation just north of Durban has done is highlight the urgent need for the establishment of KZN's Provincial Anti-Land Invasions Unit. 

The DA notes the January 16 Government Tender Bulletin, in which the KZN Human Settlement department invited "suitably qualified and experienced service providers to provide specialised security services for anti-land invasion within KZN".

We expect KZN Human Settlement MEC, Ravi Pillay to report back on exactly when this unit will be functional and to commit to a date.

Such a unit would be able to reach most areas of the province within one to two hours. It would also be able to assist smaller municipalities which often do not have the capacity to deal with land invasions on their own.

In addition, it could be used to gather intelligence on possible invasions, assess and monitor high risk areas and work with the SAPS to provide structural support to preventative measures. 

Land invasions must be dealt with decisively.

Our province cannot afford a situation where people believe that invading land is justifiable or leads to faster housing delivery when, in fact, it does the opposite. It threatens property rights, the rule of law, slows down housing development and deflects much needed investment that could pull people out of poverty and dependency. 

Statement issued by Hlanganani Gumbi, MPL, DA KZN spokesperson on human settlements, April 13 2015