adminSukulwenkosi Dube Plumtree Correspondent
MANGWE Rural District Council and the police are set to meet squatters who are allegedly conducting illegal businesses in mining areas in Mphoengs after they petitioned the local authority following a ban on their trading activities. The disgruntled squatters, who operate various businesses in mining areas visited the council offices in Plumtree and objected to a decision to evict and close down their businesses.
The squatters were accused of running illegal operations, including shebeens and brothels, among other activities blamed for the increase in stock theft and assault cases in the area.
Mangwe RDC Chief Executive Officer, Nketha Mangoye Dlamini, said his office as well as the police were going to meet the squatters to find common ground.
A decision is yet to be made on when the meeting would be held.
“We will be holding a meeting with the squatters in conjunction with the police in order to address their grievances. The squatters came to our offices with their plight that they want their operations to continue,” said Dlamini.
“After the meeting, we’ll come up with the best way to ensure they conduct legal operations. If need be, the current place which they were evicted from will be turned into an official place for their operations or they’ll be moved to an official sight.”
Dlamini said his office would focus on ensuring that the squatters carried their trade legally, while the police would deal with concerns on alleged criminal activities.
Police recently ordered the squatters to evacuate the area as their operations were illegal and serving as a hub for criminal activities.
However, squatters who spoke to The Chronicle said they were shocked at the police and the RDC’s actions as they were holders of valid council licences.
“I’ve been operating from that place since 2010 and I mainly sell groceries. That place was unoccupied and I realised that it would be good for business. I and other squatters constructed some shacks which we use as our selling points and homes,” said Lungile Mbetsi.
“I’ve been paying a licence fee to the council since that time. At first I had applied for a hawker’s licence then I upgraded it to a vendors licence and now I’m holder of a tuck-shop licence.”
She said each operator from the area was paying $36 in licence fees every three months and an additional medical licence fee of $30 annually.
Mbetsi said they recently applied for stands to construct permanent shops, but council advised them to operate from shacks while the pegging process was underway.
Another squatter who began her operations in 2012, Anna Nyoni said their operations were legitimate.
“We’re not the cause behind cases of prostitution, theft of livestock as well as the selling of beer as alleged. We merely buy meat from locals which means that they’re the culprits as they steal from one another,” said Nyoni.
“The locals are the ones who are engaged in prostitution but on our part we don’t entertain them as suggested that we operate brothels. They take advantage of the hype of activity around our selling point to carry out their evil deeds.”
Mana Ndlovu said their operations had to be revived as they were sustaining livelihoods.
Community leaders have complained of the illegal activities in squatter camps.
Last week, Home Affairs Deputy Minister Cde Obedingwa Mguni who is also the MP for Mangwe implored relevant authorities to address the issue. He accused some police officers of being the masterminds behind the shebeens.
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