By Bernard Chiguvare and Anton van Zyl
The struggle of communal property associations (CPAs) to protect and develop their land was again evident in the latest happenings at the Muananzhele CPA. This CPA is battling to stop dissenting members from illegally demarcating and selling off sections of their land. The CPA has even gone to the extent of having culprits arrested but seemingly to no avail.
During a meeting on Sunday (6 November), the CPA's members had another meeting to discuss the problems. They then decided to provisionally terminate the membership of nine members accused of undermining the work of the CPA's executive committee and acting in a fraudulent manner. They also decided to continue with the process of evicting the people who are illegally residing on the property.
A dream of restitution
The story of the Muananzhele CPA resembles that of many other CPAs in the province. The people who lived in villages such as Luvhaha, Vuledza, Sarel, Lihaiwa, Mbangambanga, Mahubu and Balimoni were forcibly removed from their land in the 1960s by the former government. A land claim was filed in terms of the Restitution of Land Rights Act for the farms Valdeglen and portions of Boschkopjes.
In 2018, the Muananzhele CPA finally received the title deeds to the property. The CPA's committee members were, however, active even before the title deed to the property was officially handed to them. In December 2013, the Makhado Municipality gave the green light for the demarcation of 300 sites.
Around 2018, problems started to surface. Some members of the CPA started to demarcate sites on parts of the Boschkopjes farm. The CPA's executive committee approached the High Court in 2019 and obtained an interdict to try and stop these illegal activities. In the court documents, it states that the people involved have illegally sold sites and some of the buyers have already erected shacks and fenced off the land.
In the court documents they also allege that a large portion of the land had been sold illegally to a developer for R200 000, who started to develop it as a game reserve. Some of the other buyers started building houses and the CPA's grazing camps were destroyed. The CPA members who tried to stop this illegal development were threatened.
Cases of fraud were opened against three of the offenders at the Bandelierkop Police Station.
No help from the police
When the illegal activities continued, even despite the order of the High Court forbidding such conduct, the CPA asked that a warrant of arrest be issued for two of the culprits, Tshifularo Rambau and Peter Ramphai. Ramphai, in particular, did not seem to comply with the order to stop with his illegal activities and in March 2019, a warrant for his arrest was issued.
The frustration of the CPA's executive is evident in the numerous legal letters that were sent over the next couple of months. The Bandelierkop SAPS were clearly not keen on getting involved and tried to sidestep the matter. "We have reliably been told that when the CPA ask about the progress of the above-mentioned cases, they are informed that the officers are waiting for the perpetrators to come and give their statements and even to date they are still wait[ing] for them and they are doing nothing to bring them to the station," the law firm Hammann-Moosa Inc states in a letter addressed to the national police commissioner.
The police also refused to investigate the illegal selling of stands, describing it as a "civil matter". "Due to the failure to investigate the matter, and despite our client's best efforts, over 3 000 stands have been demarcated on their property and countless stands have been sold through fraudulent activities," the letter reads.
Taking a firm stand
In the latest developments, the CPA's committee resolved to utilise the land predominantly for agricultural use. During Sunday's meeting, the CPA's constitution was quoted as not allowing any member to "sell, alienate or dispose of in any manner any portion of land of the Association without the consent and approval of the majority of its members present and voting at a general meeting convened for such purpose".
The CPA committee also emphasised that the Nthabalala Tribal Authority has no authority to demarcate stands on the CPA's property. In a letter written by the lawyers, the illegal occupants of sites are warned that the tribal authority's "permission to occupy" letters are unlawful.
During Sunday's meeting, a decision was also taken to establish a five-person disciplinary committee to deal with the issue of the suspension of the nine members accused of undermining the work of the CPA. The committee will be headed by a lawyer to ensure that the process is fair and adheres to the legal requirements. The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development will also be informed of the outcome.
A resolution to instruct the sheriff of the court to serve notices on the offending parties was also taken.