Katlego Sekhu

The City of Tshwane has launched an investigation into the development of Leeuwfontein, a suburb in Pretoria that appeared suddenly without any legal supervision.
The investigation comes after residents complained that they were without basic services such as electricity and water.
This follows an investigation article by GroundUp in June following complaints from residents.
The city’s spokesperson, Selby Bokaba, revealed that the municipality had issued contravention notices to landowners. On the issue of basic services, he said that Tshwane can’t help residents who live on land acquired unlawfully.
“The City does not have a program for helping the people who live in stands that they bought illegally. This [illegal subdivision and sale of land] is a criminal offence that needs to be addressed through a proper process,” said Bokaba.
Several residents told GroundUp that they welcomed the City’s investigation and they hoped it would lead to Leeuwfontein being formalised. One of them is Ernest Buthelezi. He built a double-storey house on the plot he bought from Marema in 2019.
“I resigned from my job and used R145,000 of my pension payout to buy this stand in 2019,” said Buthelezi.
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