The City of Tshwane will go ahead with an audit into illegally occupied land in Danville, west of Pretoria, despite a looming threat by some members of the community to disrupt the process.
The metro recently obtained a court ruling to allow for an audit into structures built in the area prior to May 15, 2024.
However, the City has raised concern about potential threats to derail the audit process, following the circulation of an audio message on social media platforms, calling on community members to gather at Farm 599-JR Danville yesterday.
Municipal spokesperson, Selby Bokaba, said the audio in question indicated that the occupiers of the said farm had to physically be at their respective stands when the audit process takes place in line with a ruling by the High Court, Pretoria, issued on August 1.
“The voice message is devoid of any truth and must be disregarded. It must be put on record that the message is intentionally designed to mislead the public,” he said.
Bokaba said the court order obtained by the municipality as the applicant explicitly stated that, “the City of Tshwane, shall jointly with three delegate members of the first and the third respondents, conduct an audit of the number of people who were in occupation of the premises prior to the applicant acquiring ownership”.
The municipality, he said, took ownership of the land on May 15 this year after it had been transferred to it by the Gauteng provincial government.
“It must be emphasised that the audit, which is to be conducted by city officials and the respondents’ delegation, will be done only on those structures which have been at the premises before 15 May 2024,” Bokaba said.
He said once the inspection in loco was completed, “the city will submit a report which will determine which structures are to be demolished, if any”.
Bokaba called on residents in and around Danville Farm 599-JR not to heed the voice message’s call to converge at the premises.
“We urge the community to allow the parties, as ordered by the court, to complete the process without any hindrance. Tshwane is cautioning those that are behind this deliberate plan to disrupt the audit process, that their actions border on criminality, and they can be charged and prosecuted for such actions,” Bokaba said.
Pretoria News