After sustained pressure from the FF Plus and other role players, the Mangaung Metro finally started removing the illegal land occupants from Lourierpark, south of Bloemfontein. The Red Ants started tearing down structures at first light this morning.
The Metro had obtained an urgent court order on Saturday, 2 March, but failed to enforce it.
The FF Plus sent two warnings to the City Manager, Mr Sello More, as well as to the Mayor, Mr Gregory Nthatisi, respectively, placing them on terms.
The warnings stated, among other things, that the FF Plus would charge them with contempt of court and request that they be held personally liable for all legal costs should the court order not be enforced at once.
The FF Plus, furthermore, also engaged with the National Police Commissioner, Gen. Fannie Masemola, and the Minister of Police, Mr Bheki Cele, regarding the matter.
The party insisted that the police take decisive action against the illegal occupants considering the court order’s provisions stipulating that a strong police presence should help ensure the community’s safety and prevent crime in the area.
Urgent warnings were also issued to the local police and bailiff.
The court had granted Saturday’s urgent court order in the public interest and ruled that the illegal land occupation should be stopped. It is not up to the Mayor or City Manager to decide whether or not the order should be enforced.
The occupants should have been stopped in their tracks on Saturday already, but the feet dragging in executing the court order allowed the situation to get completely out of hand.
Although the FF Plus’s legal team had prepared its own urgent application to the court, the party decided to support an earlier application to save time and, thus, ensure rapid relief for the residents of Lourierpark and surrounds.
The illegal occupation of municipal land, which was reportedly incited by ANC councillors, is an extremely dangerous election gimmick employed by the ANC.
It is a desperate attempt by the ruling party to use the time it has left in the last three months before the elections to give the people what it has been promising them for 30 years, but failed to deliver.
The FF Plus is calling on all communities to be on the lookout for similar situations and to report it at once before it escalates.
The ANC is a cancer eating away at South Africa for its own benefit. Voters must get rid of it to restore and rebuild South Africa.
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