“The thieves must be called to justice” says ABM deputy president By Nokulunga Majola Shack dweller movement Abahlali BaseMjondolo (ABM) led several grassroots organisations in a protest march through Durban’s streets. ABM is demanding that hundreds of millions of rands missing through government corruption be recovered and the guilty prosecuted. ABM wants the land invasion unit abolished and its members “called...

High Court judge says City of Cape Town tried to use bylaws “as a quick fix” to evict the Singabalapha group By Tania Broughton The City of Cape Town has been trying for a year to evict about 30 people from land in Observatory. The Western Cape High Court on Tuesday interdicted the City from eviciting the Singabalapha community without due...

The Grootboom case resulted in a landmark judgment that protects the rights of evicted residents. But 20 years later, the hopes Justice Zak Yacoob laid down are far from being realised. By Matthew Wilhelm-Solomon On 18 May 1999, bulldozers arrived on a farm called New Rust, outside Wallacedene in the Western Cape, and began demolishing the homes of its unlawful occupiers....

Court rules that Xolobeni community should have received mining application before the right was granted By Geoffrey Allsop The Umgungundlovu community, located in Xolobeni in the Eastern Cape, has won an important case in the Gauteng High Court that enables communities to meaningfully consult with companies that want to conduct mining operations in areas where they live or work. On 11 September, Judge...

Residents of a farm in Mpumalanga say they endure unbearable working conditions and routine abuse from the farmer, despite having lived on the land for decades. By Magnificent Mndebele A farm in ward 15 of the Msukaligwa Local Municipality in Mpumalanga stretches for thousands of hectares. The farmer has diverse interests, but specialises in forestry, mielies, hay and livestock. His family has...

Activists believe a radical “new normal” is needed for land reform By Kyla Hazell and Nkosikhona Swartbooi Three parcels of public land stand out from recent land contestation in Cape Town. One is the King David Mowbray Golf Course. One is the Tafelberg Site in Sea Point. And the other is an occupied plot in Ethembeni, Khayelitsha. Two of these sites were considered “surplus”...

 By Tania Broughton For years, law firm Sinama and Associates pursued a land claim with “no shred of evidence”, ending in a loss for the claimants A 14-year land claim legal battle has ended in a loss for the claimants and an extraordinary court order barring their lawyers from claiming any fees. The claim against 19 landowners in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, mainly dairy...

City of Tshwane asked to provide land suitable not only for living but for work  By Elna Schütz Wastepickers facing eviction from land in Centurion are arguing that the City of Tshwane must provide not only alternative housing but space for their materials. The group of 200, some of whom have lived and worked in the area for 15 years or more, want...

No social housing has been built in the inner city, says judge By Madison Yauger Judges in the Tafelberg case questioned arguments by the Western Cape government on Wednesday about the decision to sell the valuable property to a private school instead of building social housing on the site. The case, being heard in the Western Cape High Court, will determine whether the...

Centre for Affordable Housing Finance points to holes in data collection process By Drew Wayland The data on state subsidised houses is unreliable and incomplete, according to a report by the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa. The total number of completed houses dropped significantly in the last three years, but bad data makes the causes of such a decrease unclear. According...