The ongoing large-scale illegal settlement of land in the Western Cape is not sustainable and extremely detrimental to the welfare of the Western Cape people.
Illegal settlements have materially affected the Western Cape environment, placed enormous strain on the province’s finances, significantly changed the region’s demographics, created unnatural competition for scarce resources, and threaten to permanently change the character of the Western Cape including its prevailing ideology.
South African citizens have a right to free movement, but this cannot be exercised in a manner which is inconsistent with the law and which disadvantages lawful residents in the region being settled.
The law as it currently stands effectively protects illegal land occupiers, which is not a criminal act, and criminalises the rightful land owner evicting them without a court order. Obtaining a court order is time consuming, costly, and often impossible without the illegal occupier being provided with alternative accommodation.
This state of affairs is ludicrous.
We will campaign for provincial legislation to be passed which can prevent further illegal settlements occurring in the Western Cape.