Programme News
26 November 2009
(Press release)
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) will appear today in the North Gauteng High Court to seek an order of contempt of court against officials from the Tshwane municipality who inhumanely and with a wanton disregard for the law, allowed the destruction of the hostel in Mamelodi.
Over the weekend of 14 and 15 November 2009, municipal officials began the destruction of the Mamelodi hostel...
16 November 2009
(News)
Mamelodi hostel residents woke up to municipal contractors removing the roofs over their heads as their long drawn-out standoff with the Tshwane Metro Council took another turn yesterday.
According to the residents, they were not warned beforehand that the contractors would be removing the roofs, and all of them still had their possessions inside the unit.
The remaining Mamelodi hostels are in...
10 July 2009
(Press release)
The residents of the Mamelodi Hostels will be marching on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday, 11 July 2009.
The hostels, which accommodate roughly 10 000 people were built by the apartheid government to provide housing to the mostly male migrant workers. The residents living in these hostels have done so for many years and form a distinct community with strong social ties.
In terms...
11 June 2009
(News)
THE decision by the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform to try to evict emerging farmer Veronica Moos again is probably a blessing in disguise.Moos herself, of course, is devastated. After winning a court order to be restored to her farm, she set about securing production credit with the backing of the Gauteng branch of farmers' union AgriSA, and is being assigned a mentor to provide...
1 June 2009
(News)
Xingwana has denied impropriety, insisting she played no role in eviction and land-allocation decisions by her officials while she was minister of land and agriculture. Xingwana launched the group, Women in Agriculture and Rural Development (Ward), soon after taking over the portfolio in 2006.
She has been a vocal champion of Ward ever since, frequently sharing the same podium with its...
27 May 2009
(News)
By Barry Bateman
A city charity organisation has contingency plans in place to help in the event of next week's widely expected mass eviction of tenants at Schubart Park. Last year the Tshwane Metro Council issued tenants with a May 31 deadline to vacate the building, but has remained mum on what exactly is planned on June 1 if the flats are not vacated.
"If this happens the council will...
27 May 2009
(News)
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday ordered the government to restore land to a black farmer evicted last month under its controversial "use it or lose it" policy. The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria yesterday ordered the government to restore land to a black farmer evicted last month under its controversial "use it or lose it" policy. The case was brought...
26 May 2009
(Press release)
Today the NorthGauteng High Court ordered the Department of Land Affairs (DLA) to return thefarm previously allocated to and occupied by Ms. Veronica Moos. Ms VeronicaMoos was allocated the farm under PLAS (Proactive Land Acquisition Strategy) in2007. The strategy was implemented by the DLA and aimed to redistribute landfor agricultural purposes and assist emerging farmers. Despite MsMoos's...
13 May 2009
(Press release)
On 8 May 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the appeal of the Mkhondeni community in Pietermaritzburg and thereby prevented their eviction.
The court further ordered that the Msunduzi Municipality to be joined to future proceedings. The Municipality was also directed to file a report by the 30 June 2009, on what steps it has taken to provide alternative land or emergency accommodation...
23 April 2009
(News)
Land Affairs Minister Lulu Xingwana and Veronica Moos - whose farm was recently seized due to the department's "use it or lose it" land distribution policy - on Tuesday reached an interim agreement in terms of which Moos will be allowed access to the farm during the day. Moos had headed to the high court here to ask for an urgent order against the minister in terms of which her...