Africa-Press – South-Africa. The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE) intends to speed up the eviction process of residents occupying the Knoflokskraal farm in Grabouw.
In response to a parliamentary question posed by DA MP Dave Bryant regarding a timeline for the eviction of the occupiers, DFFE Minister, Barbara Creecy, said the department was exploring all options for an out of court settlement.
Knoflokskraal, commonly known as Farms 336 and 445, had been occupied for more than a year with around 400 structures illegally erected on the land.
The occupation was initially led by a group of people claiming to be the descendants of the indigenous Khoi people, but other groups had since hijacked the occupation.
The farm was heavily protected by roaming security guards and police were positioned at every entrance to try and prevent more arrivals.
The Department of Public Works is the custodian of the land, while the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment was allocated the property for commercial forestry plantation purposes.
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Last year, the Department of Public Works obtained a court order preventing further settlement expansion, but authorities had been battling to stop newcomers from moving in.
“The department is also exploring options intending to find an out of court settlement on this matter to speed up the resolution process,” Creecy said in her written response.
Creecy added that on numerous occasions the departments had successfully executed such preservation orders through the sheriff of the court and the police to stop more structures from being erected.
“Structures (that are) not occupied by the identified persons are removed to prevent further persons from entering the property in question,” she said.
Creecy added the court had granted the Department of Public works and DFFE two court orders to prohibit occupation for the areas of Grabouw, Caledon and Tulbach, including Erfs 335, 336 and 445 Grabouw, related to the Knoflokskraal forest.
“In terms of the preservation orders, any further persons are prevented from entering and occupying the forest. Current occupiers are noted to maintain their status quo, pending further legal process, such as eviction proceedings,” she said.
The Department of Public Works’ Phucuka Penxa, said the sheriff carried out an instruction on “containment” as instructed by the court order.
“It must be noted that the court order is a containment order and not an eviction order,” Penxa said.
Last month, police clashed with residents illegally occupying the land. The stand-off ensued after authorities attempted to remove the structures.
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