Land ownership is an emotive issue, especially in a country where the majority of people were prevented from becoming land owners in our not-so-distant past. In the Western Cape, land is a particularly thorny issue, it being the only DA-run province in the country and one that is bursting at the seams as job-seekers arrive to seek their fortune here. The recent land invasion in Dunoon has again brought the issue to the fore as backyard dwellers tried to stake their claim to land earmarked for people from the Siyahlala informal settlement. In the aftermath, the MyCiTi station on Potsdam Road was vandalised. The City hit back at the weekend with a high court order, saying they want to put an end to such violent outbursts. The court order also applies to illegal taxi operators in nearby Joe Slovo, where another MyCiTi station at Omuramba Drive suffered the same fate.
According to the City, the land invasion was politically-motivated as local government elections loom, a charge denied by the ANC.
These issues are by all accounts difficult to manage, but throw a few politicians into the mix, and the situation becomes all the more charged.
