WATERPOORT - An elderly man got into trouble because he left a gate open at a private village near Waterpoort.

So-Ja is a private village which lies 10 km North of Waterpoort. This village is a share-block village owned by 50 shareholders.

Mr Daan Pretorius (74) walks with two crutches and finds that he does not have the strength to close the gate.

“I can’t even carry a cup,” this pensioner said who had lost both his wife and daughter in June last year. His grandson, Danie, temporarily assists him.

The incident he is referring occurred in October last year when members of the management of the private village allegedly stormed into his home to inform him and his grandson that they were breaking a law by not closing the gate.

Co-shareholder, Mr Ernest Bessinger, takes up the story: “A week later the police station’s commander at Waterpoort visited the two Danies and advised them that not closing a gate constitutes a criminal offence. On December 29 Danie, the grandson, got a R500 admission of guilt fine, delivered by the police, for not closing the gate.”

Residents complain that after that incident the gate remained open on many occasions.

Mr Tielman Bosch (76), member of the management committee and treasurer, declined to comment on the case. He did, however, say that everyone has to open and close a farm gate and that nobody was too old to close a gate. Mr Bosch said that they did not want a security officer at the gate.

According to Mr Besinger, So-Ja was developed from as early as 1962. The development arose from a former holiday resort. Only shareholders and their families may use the facilities offered by the shareblock scheme. The shareblock scheme owns a farm and portion of this farm (about 45 hectare) has been excluded to create the village. Currently, there are seven shareholders (including two directors) who stay permanently in the village.

“Over the years, management was never that strict. This relaxed management style, linked with the not well-known shareblock scheme, made So-Ja a paradise to live and holiday in. A phrase developed: ‘North of the Soutpansberg, out of the Republic.’ This made for a very safe environment,” said Mr Bessinger. He said that paranoia seems to have set, in coinciding with land claims and the influx of Zimbabweans.