The Makhado Municipal Council came in for a severe reprimand last Saturday for what was described as arrogance and malicious conceit in instructing a contractor to move onto privately owned land to erect a housing project, without proper consultation with the lawful owners of the land.

A community meeting in Buysdorp heard that Council planned the project, placed it on the official budget and instructed a contractor from elsewhere to move onto the site this week on Monday to start building 31 RDP houses for the Thalani community on Buys Community property, without their consent. The Buys community expressed its utter disbelief.

At the Buys community meeting, where Ward Councillor Norman Mabila was present, Council’s attitude was described by community members as an unacceptable, dubious, spiteful and malicious underhanded effort with racist undertones, to provoke the landowners, to create tension and to fan conflict. They wanted to know who had initiated the project.

"There seems to be sinister motives. This is an effort to make our people look bad, racist and anti-government. We have no problem with the houses. We have a problem with you," the Makhado Municipality was bluntly told.

Before the meeting, the municipality received a formal written instruction on behalf of the Buys Community Committee not to proceed with its intention to instigate the delivery of building material on Buys community property for the proposed housing project. The letter, from a local law firm, emphasized that the Buys community is not adverse to allowing the proposed project to continue, but only if all relevant information is shared with the community, proper consultation takes place and all inhabitants of the area are given equal opportunity to apply for the houses.

The letter to the municipality states: "We have instructions to formally advise you that our client will not give permission at this stage for entry on their land in order for yourselves to start the project. Our client feels very strongly that proper consultation in this matter did not take place, nor were they as landowners formally informed as to the criteria in terms of which individuals qualified for new houses. In this regard, our client also feels that members of their own community were not given an opportunity to apply for houses themselves. They were also never advised or consulted with regards to the form and manner in which the houses are to be erected."

The municipality is advised in the letter to resolve all these issues to the satisfaction of the landowners, to facilitate an agreement so that the project can continue as soon as possible.

Mabila had to face a barrage of questions from a community obviously offended by the Makhado Municipality’s seemingly high- handed dealings in the matter. The community took him to task about the fact that, apart from the lack of proper consultation, no effort had been made to recruit local expertise and manpower for the project. They also queried the fact that the same authority which had previously been reluctant to assist the Buys community with vital infrastructural improvement regarding their water scheme, because of the official legal principle that Government could not erect structures on privately owned land, now has no problem to do so, even without the request or consent of the owners. They wanted to know how the ownership of these proposed houses will be dealt with and what volumes of water will be required for the project.

Mabila said the municipality has a wide- ranging project plan for the erection of houses in many villages and communities where there is a dire need. He said the municipality is not trying to force the issue, but is pleading for sympathetic consideration of the long-standing plight of a community which cannot be wished away. The Thalani community is in a precarious position because their present dwellings on Buys community property are mostly very unstable and vulnerable clay structures. It could easily result in a disaster, when heavy rains occur. He could not say who had initiated the building project. He said this need was being dealt with together with many others. The contractor was not chosen by the municipality, but recruited at provincial level. He gave the assurance, however, that the contractor would not move in with a whole team from elsewhere, but would most definitely be obliged to appoint local manpower and utilize local expertise. He said members of the Buys community who needed housing could also apply for houses. Government is not only building houses for black people, but for all who are in need.

On the question about ownership, he did not give a clear answer, but said the municipality would be more than willing to sign an indemnity form to ensure that members of the Thalani community would have no claims against the Buys community for compensation when they leave the proposed houses to move elsewhere.