Overgrown vegetation conceals a growing squatter camp next to Constantia Emporium, say residents. Photograph: Janice Matthews
A mushrooming squatter camp next to the Constantia Emporium harbours criminals and is linked to a spike in petty crime in the area, say residents.
They raised their concerns during an online meeting of 150 people on Thursday March 28.
The camp is on an undeveloped a 3-hectare site by Spaanschemat River and Kendal roads.
During the meeting, ward councillor Emile Langenhoven spoke about future plans for the site.
Long grass and bush hide the full extent of the growing squatter camp there, say residents. They complained about unhygienic conditions at the camp and said it appeared to be driving up petty crime in the area.
Mr Langenhoven said a property being unfit for habitation was not grounds for eviction in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE).
“The courts fall back onto the PIE Act and essentially it says you cannot remove unlawful occupiers from a property because they have been there for a certain amount of time. The only way you are able to do that is to build a proper case, and you have to build the evidence for that.”
The property was owned by the national government and the City had no jurisdiction over it and so could do no improvements to it, he said.
However, he added that that could change, spurred on, he hoped, by a meeting he would be having with mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis on Thursday April 11.
“When the land transfer to the land claims commission was negotiated in 2010, council had put in a proviso that once the land claims had been settled, any land remaining should be ceded back to Cape Town. I have now initiated a conversation with the mayor, as well as his legal team, and will then be having a meeting to discuss what plans we can initiate so that we can cede the property back to the City of Cape Town… Only until that land is properly transferred in the City of Cape Town’s name are we able to do something on that property.”
But transferring the property to the City, he said, would not be a quick process as the national government would need to handle the evictions and “it is very doubtful if they will even budge on doing that”.
Addressing concerns about criminality linked to the site, he said the municipality had discussed the issue with the Diep River police, the Constantia Valley Watch and private security, but “they also have standing orders not to remove people from any property or any settlement that is being established”.
Clearing the site of overgrown vegetation would make it easier to see what was happening there, he said.
“If the community decides they want to do an alien vegetation clearing, so we can clear the area and actually see what is happening on the property, I don't have any problems with that.”
Diep River police spokesperson Sergeant Ashley Adonis said the squatter camp could not be linked to a spike in crime, according to their crime data.
“According to our crime pattern analysis of the areas surrounding the settlement, crime there makes up 0.8% of our overall reported crime.”
The most recent arrest linked to the camp, Sergeant Adonis said, had been last month when a man from the camp had been held for the possession of drugs and dangerous weapons.
“We conduct regular operations in accordance with crime-pattern analysis. However, it must be kept in mind that our crime-pattern analysis is a direct result of reported crimes.”