Residents from the Maholoni section in Block F, Thohoyandou, are very concerned about the Thulamela Local Municipality’s alleged attempt to demolish their houses and evict them from the area.

The chairperson of the Block F Civic Association, Mr Mboniseni Phanuel Ndou, explained earlier this week that the problems between the residents and the municipality started years ago when residents began building their houses on municipal land without the required permission. He said that after residents had tried unsuccessfully on numerous occasions to obtain the necessary permission to occupy the land, they had decided to take matters into their own hands. Around 2016, they started building their own houses in the area, which the municipality had planned to turn into a park. The municipality took the residents to court and won the case. Now, the residents are appealing the court judgment on the matter.

“We feel that, even though we illegally built our houses on municipal land, the municipality should have stopped us when we started building in 2016,” he said.

When asked why they had built their large houses on municipal land without the necessary permission, Ndou explained that foreign business owners operating in local towns had been granted permission to build houses on the same land, while South African residents had not been allowed to do the same. “The municipality did not try to stop us from building our houses then, even though they are situated just 100 metres away from here. They saw us building. Now, two years later, when we are living here happily, they start to threaten to evict us from this area. We are optimistic that we will win the appeal,” he said.

One of the residents from the area, Miss Pretty Mudau, said her house was the only valuable property she had in her life, and destroying it would be tantamount to killing her mentally and spiritually. “I don’t think I will be able to live for another day if they end up destroying this house,” she said.

The spokesperson for Thulamela Municipality, Mr Ndwamato Tshiila, confirmed that the dispute between the municipality and the residents of Maholoni section in Block F but stated that they could not comment further as the matter was before the courts.