PRESS RELEASE: RP Welcomes Dept of Human Settlements Announcement on Illegal Occupation of Land
RP encouraged national govt recognises issues with PIE Act, frustrated that DA-led WC govt has failed to use its existing powers to address the problem
RP Welcomes Dept of Human Settlements Announcement on Illegal Occupation of Land
The Referendum Party (RP) is encouraged that the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) has formally acknowledged the role the PIE Act plays in enabling the large-scale illegal settlement of land, and has committed to reviewing the legislation.
In its recent policy launch the RP addressed the issue of illegal land invasions in the Western Cape and committed to developing a provincial version of the PIE Act which would address precisely the issues which the DHS has now acknowledged. Earlier this week, RP circulated its first draft of the provincial bill to key stakeholders for comment.
RP leader Phil Craig says, “When it comes to the illegal settlement of land, the law and its current interpretation have become nonsensical. The Constitutional right not to be deprived of your home has come to mean that you can illegally occupy another person's property whereafter the law protects you and criminalises the property owner if they try to reclaim their use of it. Our bill will strengthen the definition of ‘home’ to include the element of legal occupation. It cannot be your home if you stole it from someone else.”
Another element of the RP’s draft bill is the notion that persons who have been evicted after having illegally occupied land, cannot be allowed to benefit from their illegal actions by jumping the housing queue ahead of those who have acted legally. This is a significant issue in the Western Cape where courts routinely require municipalities to provide alternative accommodation to the illegal settlers.
Craig also asserts that the DA have badly failed the Western Cape people on illegal settlements, “It is absolutely crazy that in 2023 the DA tabled an amendment to the PIE Act in the National Assembly where it does not have a majority and is therefore unlikely to see the legislation passed, but has failed to table the same bill in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament where it has an outright majority and can pass the legislation. Under Schedule 4 of the constitution, housing is a concurrent competence and the province can pass its own legislation. The DA talks a good game around federalism, but it never seems to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity when it comes to actually delivering it.”
DATE: 21 November 2024