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STAFF REPORTERS R ESIDENTS of Mel- gisedek complex in Riv- iera have claimed that Tshwane Metro Council “ill egall y” cut off their electricity. The complex – for merly home to Melgisedek Christian Centre on the c o rn e r of Annie Botha and Voortrekkers roads – has been without electricity for more than a week. Residents said they could not understand why the electricity had been cut off because they use pre- paid electrici ty. “What the council did is illegal because we use pre-paid meters. Some p eople had loaded their meters but they cannot use their electricity because the power is off,” saidresident Susan Bu ys. She said some r esidents had to throw away rotten food because their fridges were not working. “Their fridges are not working due to the electr icit y cut-off and this forced them to throwfood away because it was rotten,” she said. Buys said mos t residents were willing to pay for municipal serv- ices and had approached the municipality on several occasions for assistance without any luck. According to Buys, a residentat the comp lex had been collecting R200 from each resident, but they did 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 have deteriorated over the past few years. The municipality committed to improving conditions at the com- plex in 2010 and promised to come up with an action plan indicating steps to be taken to address the wel- fare of residents. This was after DA councillor Francois Bekker submitted a motion to council in 2010, asking for action and commitment from the municipality. Bekker said at the time that the ball was now in the metro council’s court to introduce an action plan to take con trol of the situation. While the municipality has failed to provide answers to the Pre- toria News regarding the situation at Melgisedek, ANC councillors, who included former member of the mayoral committee for environ- mental management Tessa Ernest and Edward Musehane, paid a sur- prise visit to the c omplex on Mon- day “to obtain first-hand informa- tion on what is happening”. Ernest said they made some observations and would discuss what 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 Ri viera Close and Medi-Village complexes have also spoken out about the “goings-on” in the complex, which they say often spill o ver into their complexes. A resident occupying a block of flats next to the Melgisedek perime- ter wall said she could no longer sit on her balcony, as each time she did, she attrac ted unwanted atten- tion from “malcontents” at Beer- sheba, as the complex is notori- ously known. “They start calling me all sorts of names li ke, lo vey , sister or sweety, and I find it extremely annoying,” said the tenant who declined to be named. She said at times she could not keep her windows open as the smell of mari juana from Beers heba wafted into her hous e. “I am definitely on my way out,” she said, adding that she was look- ing for accommodation somewhere decent. A security guard at Riviera Close complex, who also declined to be named said t he rate of turnover in their block of flats b ordering Melgisedek was very high because of the nuis ance ari sing fro m the complex. He said besides the smell of drugs and noise emanating from the complex, there was at times an unbearable smell from the sewe r system there. The security guard said residents from the surround- ing area who dropped at a nearby bus stop were not safe after dark, and that therehad been incide nts of bag snatching, with the muggers running and disappearing into the complex. “If this place got shut down or demolished, people here (at Riviera Close) and those at Medi-Village would definitely be very happy ,” the guard said. A member of the Moot community police forum (South Sector), who did not wish to be named, said steps should be taken by the council to address the prob- lems at the complex. The member said there were a lot of things happen ing 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 the problem,” he said. He said the complex was a hide- out for criminals and posed a threat for students whowalk to the nearby Steve Biko Hospital. “One of the biggest prob lems we have is that crime has increased and this is not good for the neigh- bourhood. This complex pulls the wrong people to the area,” he said. 6 PRETORIA NEWS THURSDAY MAY 16 2013 News Uncollected refuse at Melgisedek building on the corner of Steve Biko (Beatrix) and Annie Botha Streets. PICTURES: E TIENNE CREUX Part of Melgisedek building where residents feel abandoned by council. Fury at metro’s empty pr omises Melgisedek in sorry state despite commitment to improve the plight of residents A spaza shop at Melgisedek buildin g using an oil lamp after electricity was cut off. Lawyers hope to set land reform precedent ZELDA VENTER HIGHCOURT REPORTER LAWYERS for Human Rights (LHR) are set on paving the way for future land reform and creating a precedent on 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 now the government had failed the commu- nities who lost their land during apartheid, LHR lawyer Louise du Plessis said. The case that will test the waters in this regard is that of the Baphirin g community, which has been embroiled in legal proceedings with the govern- ment for 15 years regarding their lost land. Earlier this month their plight was presented to the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein, where the judges expressed strong views about the gove rnment’s lac k of successful resettlement of communities on land they had lost during apartheid. The judges referred to failed land reform projects as a “time bomb” and criticised the government for the “appalling” manner in which it had dealt with the Baphiring land claim. The Baphiring is a traditional com- munity living in the North West Province. They owned land – which they referred to as Old Mabaalstad – situated about 20km west of the town of Koster , which the y bought in th e 1880s. As a result of the provis ions of the Black Land Act of 1913 and later the Native Trust and Land Act, this land 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 a result relocated in 1972 to an area about 85km to the north – an area which was later to become Bophuthatswana. The land comprised 17000 hectares and was referred to by the community as “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 court held their wish to move back to their ancestral land was not feasible. The community disagreed and felt that the government owed them this. Advocate Rudolph Jansen SC, who acted on b ehalf of the commu nity , told the appeal court that from the evi- dence of the witness es who testified on be half of the community it wa s clear they had strong social and polit- ical emotions around the issue of their historic dispossession. They said they wanted to move back to their ancestral land if given suffic ient sup- port by the government to do so. A big p ortion of the evid ence led over the years in the various court applications was spent on “just and equitable 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 could be resettled elsewhere. “The Baphiring community held the strongest rights that history afforded them, namely freehold. Loss of these rights by b lack communitie s should be a strong factor in favour of restoration,” said Jansen. He added that the community also had a spiri- tual connection with their ancestral land. The State’s attitude was that these people should be awarded the land and should be allowed to keep the compen- satory land (New Mabaalstad), but they should not receive the money they were claiming for relocation and resettlement. The landowners in 2005 agreed on a ballpark figure for the land set at R30 million, but this had now mov ed up to about R70m due to the increase in land prices. In addition to this, the community indicated they would need R65m to be used for resettlement and post-settle- ment support. This money, they said, would be needed for the establishment of a residential v illage and acc ompa- nying services as well as for assistance in re-establishing agricultural activities. According to Du Plessis, in terms of the State’s grant system, the commu- nity would receive only R2.6m, while the community estimated it would cost closer to R60m to resettle. The appeal court did in principle agree with the community on the issues of thei r resett lement, but referred the matter back to the Land Claims Court for the parties to lead evidence about a proper resettlement plan and the costs of such res ettle- ment. “This case is vitally important to land 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 return to their land because of the lack of financial support from the govern- ment. She expressed her hope that the Baphiring case would for once and for all set guidelines in place which would force the government to fulfil its obligations. “There can be no doubt that the wish for restoration is strongly driv en by 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 wou ld be one cate- gory of injustice s 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 powerles sness at the time. Members of the Baphiring community gathered outside the appeal court in Bloemfont ein earlier this month. R unners are raring to go for the 2013 Comrades Marathon AT THE Sahara Kingsmead Cricket Stadium on Sunda y , June 2, 19 722 runners are expected to lin e up for the Comrades Marathon. Among them will be 1422 inter- national runners – 1 190 from over- seas and 232 from the r est 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 oldes t is Desmond Robins, 83, from Durban. Comrades marathon race direc- tor Johan van Staden, said prepara- tions were“100 percent on track”. “We have increased security along the route and there will be more patrols . SAPS has also com- mitted itse lf to increasing visibil- ity, and other traffic authorities have promised to increase their presence, so we are happy,” he said. A total of 600 securi ty officials would be hired. On the medical front, 60 doctors and 300 physio- therapists will provide the care patients need, said the marathon’s spokeswoman Delaine Cools. The winner i n the men and women’s race will b ag R300 000, which would be subject to passing a doping test with the SA Institute for Drug-Free Sport. Second place and third place woul d get R145 000 and R110 000 respectively , while the 10th place gets R14 000. Hot spots would be in placeas an incentive. The first man and woman to pass Cowies Hill, would win an extra R8000. The first man and woman at the halfway mark would win R12000, and the first to reach Camperdown would win R18 000 in total. However, Van Staden said to avoid “rabbit starters”, to be appli- cable for the prize, an athlete would have 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 men and 4339 women. – Sihle Mlambo
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