Cape Town - After daily land invasions and a lack of co-operation from the Theewaterskloof (TWK) municipality, Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (Deff) Minister Barbara Creecy has pulled the plug on a multimillion-rand forestry project that would have benefited the Knoflokskraal, Grabouw community.
Appearing before the Deff committee, Creecy accused the Theewaterskloof municipality and 4 000 land invaders of having “no appetite” to meet and resolve the impasse over land occupied in December 2020.
It emerged in the committee that the invasions and land-related protests were so regular and the situation so volatile that provincial police hold weekly meetings to discuss strategies.
Deff and police labelled land occupations as “organised”.
The department, which is responsible for 24 000ha of land in the province, has now relinquished the land to Public Works and Infrastructure.
TWK municipal manager Boy Ngubo had not responded at the time of writing.
Creecy said: “This particular area falls under the category B and C forests, which we would want to put out to lease, and where possible to enter into community forestry agreements with landless community members interested in participating in forestry.”
She said the department recently launched its first community forest agreement, which they wanted to apply in the Grabouw community. Creecy said they would look for a private partner interested in replanting the land with the community.
The department invited those with historical links to the land for discussions, even if they do not hold title deeds, especially the Khoi and the San.
She described the discussions as complex and the department as lacking externalities in resolving the situation.
The invasion took place during hard lockdowns, and despite the department obtaining a court order to stop further land invasions, the occupations continued.
Meetings with Khoi and San leaders led to an agreement that the government set up a committee to look into the land rights of the locals.
Creecy said she engaged TWK municipality leaders and asked for the municipal blessing, and requested to make alternative land available for those who occupied the land but would not use it for forestry.
Creecy said: “The deputy director-general (Pumeza Nodada) has made numerous attempts to set up follow-up meetings, and the conclusion one has reached is that there is no appetite from this community for this agreement for a community forestry agreement, and there is no appetite from this municipality for this agreement and no appetite to provide alternative land.
“It is no longer possible to conduct forestry operations of this land. There are 4 000 people living on this land.”
She said the department is now handing over the land to Public Works and Infrastructure.
Nodada said the two departments will now place tactical security guards on the land to curb daily land occupations. She said the Province had also been pressurising the department to get rid of the invaders.
Addressing the committee, Western Cape police commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile said the police had conducted several interventions, including a daily deployment of visible policing, stakeholder meetings, 15 operations where cops assisted the sheriff on the land, and weekly provincial meetings.
Patekile said despite these attempts, only four cases of trespassing were registered, and no arrests were made. He said this was due to witnesses’ reluctance to come forward and police not knowing who owns the land.