In a recent Daily Maverick column, “South Africa, where shame is a rare commodity,” (3 July 2020) Judith February names a range of public shames, including the trillion-rand cost of corruption and the continued failure to take action under President Cyril Ramaphosa.

I would like to add some perspective to one of the examples of shameful circumstances flagged by the author — that of the incident involving law enforcement officials and Mr Bulelani Qolani, which occurred during efforts to prevent an illegal land invasion in Khayelitsha.

At the time of writing, Ms February was perhaps not aware of further video footage filmed by law enforcement officials containing new perspectives not visible in the viral video.

But until this investigation, which requires independent scrutiny of all submitted evidence, is concluded, it need not be elaborated further here.

Nor do the details of that event and its investigation alter the service delivery impacts I wish to specifically address.

This land invasion site is on the direct pathway of an ongoing R162-million water pipeline project crucial to Khayelitsha as a whole. New housing developments will further rely on critical bulk service infrastructure such as this project.

The pipeline is specifically designed to increase water pressure for some 11,000 Enkanini residents, and to provide assurance of supply to the whole of Khayelitsha. The City has already installed 1.4km of this 6km pipeline from Faure to Khayelitsha, along Baden Powell Drive. Projects of this scale are planned and budgeted for as part of a 10-year master plan. Funds come from ratepayer money, and engineering designs are based on analysis of existing and projected growth.

More than R50-million of the project budget has already been spent, and we are on track for completion in 12-18 months. Preventing land invasions along the route is crucial to ensuring no further interruptions. This is a project that Khayelitsha residents cannot afford to have fail, and they should be assured that it is of high priority to the City as well.

The High Court has ordered that further invasion of the land must be prevented, and it is the City’s duty to enforce this. Staff of the Anti-Land Invasion Unit have had to return to the site on a near daily basis to protect the land from being lost to permanent unplanned occupation, and consequent loss of the infrastructural upgrade. 

To date, no evictions have taken place on the site, only anti-land invasion operations. This is monitored on an ongoing basis. It is important that the public is aware of the difference between an eviction and active prevention of a land invasion.

The lionising of illegal land invasions belies their devastating social impact, and it is a great shame that many South Africans can’t or won’t acknowledge the tens of thousands who silently endure their consequences.

From 2018 to date, 358 hectares of private and public land have been invaded in the City of Cape Town alone. 

The opportunity cost of land invasions is incredibly high. To name several examples:

• Loss of property earmarked for basic services and housing development;
• Invasion of private land that cannot be serviced by the City;
• Invasions seeking to jump the housing queue ahead of long-deserving residents;
• Uncontrolled growth leading to pollution of water systems;
• Loss of land that is ecologically sensitive; and
• Invasion of land that is dangerous due to flooding, access and building stability.

Understanding the challenges that we face as a City, and that these are no doubt shared across South Africa, we have called on President Ramaphosa to convene an urgent meeting of all three spheres of government on the national crisis of land invasions.

This was formally requested by Mayor Dan Plato in late June, and we note that even Minsters Lindiwe Sisulu and Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma are quick to publicly acknowledge that land invasions cannot be allowed to take place.

An effective anti-land-invasion response is a key aspect of any sustainable housing plan for local authorities.

The City has also long called for a more enabling legislative framework on human settlements, basic services and urban land reform. We cannot keep counting the cost of uncontrolled development.

Acknowledging and rectifying this shameful set of circumstances in our cities is one of the great challenges we all need to face up to. DM

Alderman Xanthea Limberg is the Mayoral Committee member for Water and Waste in the City of Cape Town.