Dwellers at the newly erected Baywest informal settlement watched helplessly as municipal bulldozers demolished the shacks they had built just over a week ago.
Margaret Befile, 60, said they had lost R60,000 after hiring bulldozers to clear the bush so that they could build their shacks between Perseverance and Despatch.
More than 200 residents chipped in R300 each for the bushes to be cleared.
“I’ve lost more than R2,000 because I had to buy building material, pay the R300 and also pay the guys who were building my house,” Befile said.
“They could at least have warned us they were coming to demolish, then we could have demolished these structures ourselves and been able to keep the material.
“We didn’t get a chance, we didn’t get a court order or interdict to say they’ve got a right to demolish.”
The group had hoped to have 700 new shacks set up within two years, with a school and a grocery store.
“We went to the department of land in Uitenhage and were told it belongs to the department of agriculture,” Befile said last week.
“We went to the department of agriculture and were told it belongs to the municipality, and then we went to the deeds office because we have a business plan and an application we want to submit.”
On Wednesday, Mzukisi Tonsi said all that had been left for him to do was to put the roof on the shack he had built, and after 14 years of waiting for an RDP house he would have finally had a place to call his own.
Tonsi said he was renting and had spent more than R3,000 on everything.
“I don’t know where my material went.
“When I arrived here, everything was gone and I was told by some people from the municipality that all building materials were taken to a municipal dump out in Walmer. How will I get that back or even know which material is mine?
“When we go to the municipal offices and demand houses they keep telling us there’s no land.
“When we find land and build, officials come and demolish our shacks,” Tonsi said.
Nothemba Oliphant threatened to rebuild and said the ANC could forget about their votes in the next election.
The municipality said there were no people living in any of the structures and thus there had been no evictions.
Spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said: “The municipality, assisted by other government entities, removed about 300 illegal incomplete structures.
“The municipality would like to thank affected residents for their co-operation during this operation.
“The municipality calls upon the residents to engage the municipality on issues of land availability.
“The current administration has taken a decision to move with speed in identifying and availing land for residential and other purposes.
“Engagements will also be done with provincial and national human settlements about fast-tracking housing delivery.”
Metro Traditional Leaders Association chair Velile Mfunda expressed concern at the proximity of the Baywest settlement to the initiation school in KwaMagxaki.
He said at the moment they were not fighting with anyone because they had “subdivided” the land to ensure the initiates were on one side and the invaders on the other side.
There were several structures meant for initiates erected on Wednesday while the commotion was carrying on further down the road.
“We had the same problem in Motherwell where people built shacks, but even there we came to an agreement with the residents,” he said.
“We’re actually meant to be in the mountains but because we’re living in the city, we do our rituals in areas with bush, which are dwindling in size as of late.”
DA councillor Nqaba Bhanga said before Mongameli Bobani was mayor he had gone around the city encouraging people to illegally occupy land.
“Bobani and the ANC-led coalition of corruption are now claiming victory regarding the removal of unoccupied illegal structures near the Joe Slovo informal settlement,” Bhanga said.