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STAFF REPORTERS

RE SI DE NTS o f Mel -

gisedek complex in Riv-iera have claimed thatTshwane Metro Council

“illegally” cut off theirelectricity.

The complex – for merly home to

Melgisedek Christian Centre on thecorner of Annie Botha andVoortrekkers roads – has been

without electricity for more than aweek.

Residents said they could not

understand why the electricity hadbeen cut off because they use pre-paid electrici ty.

“What the council did is illegalbecause we use pre-paid meters.Some people had loaded their

meters but they cannot use theirelectricity because the power isoff,” saidresident Susan Buys.

She said some residents had tothrow away rotten food becausetheir fridges were not working.

“Their fridges are not workingdue to the electricity cut-off andthis forced them to throwfood away

because it was rotten,” she said.Buys said most residents were

willing to pay for municipal serv-ices and had approached themunicipality on several occasions

for assistance without any luck.According to Buys, a residentat

the complex had been collecting

R200 from each resident, but theydid not know whatit was meant for.“We want to know what the

money will be used for,” she said.Buys said they might approach

the Pretoria High Court to have

their electricity reconnected.“We have pre-paid electricity but

we cannot use it… this is unfair.”

Conditions at the complex havedeteriorated over the past fewyears.

The municipality committed toimproving conditions at the com-plex in 2010 and promised to come

up with an action plan indicatingsteps to be taken to address the wel-fare of residents.

This was after DA councillorFrancois Bekker submitted amotion to council in 2010, asking

for action and commitment fromthe municipality.

Bekker said at the time that the

ball was now in the metro council’scourt to introduce an action plan to

take control of the situation.While the municipality has

failed to provide answers to the Pre-

toria News regarding the situationat Melgisedek, ANC councillors,who included former member of 

the mayoral committee for environ-mental management Tessa Ernestand Edward Musehane, paid a sur-

prise visit to the complex on Mon-day “to obtain first-hand informa-tion on what is happening”.

Ernest said they made someobservations and would discusswhat theyhad seen with the munic-

ipality.“A plan needs t o be made to

address some of the issues raised

by residents,” she said.Residents of the nearby Riviera

Close and Medi-Village complexes

have also spoken out about the“goings-on” in the complex, which

they say often spill over into theircomplexes.

A resident occupying a block of 

flats next to the Melgisedek perime-ter wall said she could no longer siton her balcony, as each time she

did, she attracted unwanted atten-tion from “malcontents” at Beer-sheba, as the complex is notori-

ously known.“They start calling me all sorts

of names like, lovey, sister or

sweety, and I find it extremelyannoying,” said the tenant whodeclined to be named.

She said at times she could notkeep her windows open as the smellof marijuana from Beersheba

wafted into her house.“I am definitely on my way out,”

she said, adding that she was look-

ing for accommodation somewheredecent.

A security guard at RivieraClose complex, who also declined tobe named said the rate of turnover

in their block of flats borderingMelgisedek was very high becauseof the nuisance arising from the

complex.He said besides the smell of 

drugs and noise emanating from

the complex, there was at times anunbearable smell from the sewersystem there. The security guard

said residents from the surround-ing area who dropped at a nearbybus stop were not safe after dark,

and that therehad been incidents of bag snatching, with the muggersrunning and disappearing into the

complex.“If this place got shut down or

demolished, people here (at Riviera

Close) and those at Medi-Villagewould definitely be very happy,” the

guard said. A member of the Mootcommunity police forum (SouthSector), who did not wish to be

named, said steps should be takenby the council to address the prob-lems at the complex.

The member said there were alot of things happening at the com-plex, with little action being taken

by the authorities.“There are a lot of illegal people

and drugs are involved. The city

has not done anything to tackle theproblem,” he said.

He said the complex was a hide-

out for criminals and posed a threatfor students whowalk to the nearbySteve Biko Hospital.

“One of the biggest problems wehave is that crime has increasedand this is not good for the neigh-

bourhood. This complex pulls thewrong people to the area,” he said.

6 PRETORIA NEWSTHURSDAY MAY 16 2013News

Uncollected refuse at Melgisedek building on the corner of Steve Biko (Beatrix) and Annie Botha Streets. PICTURES: ETIENNE CREUX

Part of Melgisedek building where residents feel abandoned by council.

Fury at metro’s empty promisesMelgisedek in sorry state despite commitment to improve the plight of residents

A spaza shop at Melgisedek building using an oil lamp after electricity was cut off.

Lawyers hope to setland reform precedentZELDA VENTER

HIGHCOURTREPORTER

LAWYERS for Human Rights (LHR)

are set on paving the way for futureland reform and creating a precedenton how displaced communities will

settle with support from the govern-ment in future.

LHR will soon turn to the Land

Claims Court where a proper resettle-ment plan will be placed on the table.

The cost of resettlement will also

come under the spotlight, as up to nowthe government had failed the commu-nities who lost their land during

apartheid, LHR lawyer Louise duPlessis said.

The case that will test the waters in

this regard is that of the Baphiringcommunity, which has been embroiledin legal proceedings with the govern-

ment for 15 years regarding their lostland.

Earlier this month their plight was

presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, where the judges expressed strong views about

the government’s lack of successfulresettlement of communities on landthey had lost during apartheid.

The judges referred to failed landreform projects as a “time bomb” andcriticised the government for the

“appalling” manner in which it haddealt with the Baphiring land claim.

The Baphiring is a traditional com-

munity living in the North WestProvince. They owned land – whichthey referred to as Old Mabaalstad – 

situated about 20km west of the townof Koster, which they bought in the1880s. As a result of the provisions of 

the Black Land Act of 1913 and laterthe Native Trust and Land Act, thisland did not fall within an area sched-

uled for ownership by black people.The community and their land

were therefore considered as a so-

called “black spot”. They were as aresult relocated in 1972 to an areaabout 85km to the north – an area

which was later to becomeBophuthatswana.

The land comprised 17000 hectares

and was referred to by the communityas “New Mabaalstad.” At the time of the forced removal, the community

consisted of 500 households.The community this month turned

to the appeal court as a previous courtheld their wish to move back to theirancestral land was not feasible. The

community disagreed and felt thatthe government owed them this.

Advocate Rudolph Jansen SC, who

acted on behalf of the community, toldthe appeal court that from the evi-dence of the witnesses who testified

on behalf of the community it wasclear they had strong social and polit-ical emotions around the issue of 

their historic dispossession. They saidthey wanted to move back to theirancestral land if given sufficient sup-

port by the government to do so.A big portion of the evidence led

over the years in the various court

applications was spent on “just andequitable compensation”.

Jansen said the relocation was

indeed feasible as the market value of the land was affordable to the govern-ment and because the landowners

were commercial farmers who couldbe resettled elsewhere.

“The Baphiring community held

the strongest rights that historyafforded them, namely freehold. Lossof these rights by black communities

should be a strong factor in favour of restoration,” said Jansen. He addedthat the community also had a spiri-

tual connection with their ancestralland.

The State’s attitude was that these

people should be awarded the land andshould be allowed to keep the compen-satory land (New Mabaalstad), but

they should not receive the moneythey were claiming for relocation andresettlement.

The landowners in 2005 agreed ona ballpark figure for the land set atR30 million, but this had now moved

up to about R70m due to the increasein land prices.

In addition to this, the community

indicated they would need R65m to beused for resettlement and post-settle-ment support. This money, they said,

would be needed for the establishmentof a residential village and accompa-nying services as well as for assistance

in re-establishing agriculturalactivities.

According to Du Plessis, in terms of 

the State’s grant system, the commu-nity would receive only R2.6m, whilethe community estimated it would

cost closer to R60m to resettle.The appeal court did in principle

agree with the community on the

issues of their resettlement, butreferred the matter back to the LandClaims Court for the parties to lead

evidence about a proper resettlementplan and the costs of such resettle-ment.

“This case is vitally important toland reform and will create a prece-dent on how communities will settle in

future,” she said.According to Du Plessis many com-

munities whose land claims were set-

tled in the past simply did not returnto their land because of the lack of financial support from the govern-

ment. She expressed her hope that theBaphiring case would for once and for

all set guidelines in place which wouldforce the government to fulfil itsobligations.

“There can be no doubt that thewish for restoration is strongly drivenby a quest for historical justice and

that such a quest is legitimate and fair.It is not driven by fanciful aspirations,but rather by political aspirations that

underpinned the constitutional bar-gain which led to democracy.

“Recognition must be given to the

constitutional promise that disposses-sion of land rights would be one cate-gory of injustices that will receive spe-

cific legal attention,” Jansen said.He referred the court to the many

sad tales of those who had to move and

their feeling of powerlessness at thetime.

Members of the Baphiring community gathered outside the appeal court inBloemfontein earlier this month.

Runners are raring to go for the 2013 Comrades MarathonAT THE Sahara Kingsmead CricketStadium on Sunday, June 2, 19 722

runners are expected to line up forthe Comrades Marathon.

Among them will be 1422 inter-

national runners – 1 190 from over-seas and 232 from the rest of Africa.

The average age for women run-

ners is 40, while for men it is 41.This year’s youngest runner is

Ebrahim Samsodian, 20, from Cape

Town. The oldest is DesmondRobins, 83, from Durban.

Comrades marathon race direc-tor Johan van Staden, said prepara-tions were“100 percent on track”.

“We have increased securityalong the route and there will bemore patrols. SAPS has also com-

mitted itself to increasing visibil-ity, and other traffic authoritieshave promised to increase their

presence, so we are happy,” he said.A total of 600 security officials

would be hired. On the medicalfront, 60 doctors and 300 physio-therapists will provide the care

patients need, said the marathon’sspokeswoman Delaine Cools.

The winner in the men and

women’s race will bag R300 000,which would be subject to passing adoping test with the SA Institute for

Drug-Free Sport. Second place andthird place would get R145 000 and

R110 000 respectively, while the 10thplace gets R14 000.

Hot spots would be in placeas an

incentive. The first man andwoman to pass Cowies Hill, wouldwin an extra R8000. The first man

and woman at the halfway markwould win R12000, and the first toreach Camperdown would win

R18 000 in total.However, Van Staden said to

avoid “rabbit starters”, to be appli-cable for the prize, an athlete wouldhave to finish within seven hours

and 30 minutes.eThekwini mayor James Nxu-

malo will fire the gun at the start in

Durban at 5.30am. Of the runners,78 percent or 15 383 men are menand 4339 women. – Sihle Mlambo