Families to challenge R12m eviction settlement dispute

Families placed on land earmarked for a smart city development near Lanseria Airport in Joburg say they will challenge the court application to suspend their R12m eviction settlement agreement. 

At least 48 families who used to live on Lindley Farm have been cited as respondents in an application by Cradle City (PTY) LTD, a company that bought the land in dispute.

The company wants the court to suspend a 2020 settlement agreement that would have seen each family getting R250,000 to relocate to Portion 78, a piece of land the firm made available to the families. 

In its court papers, Cradle City also wants the families to present evidence in court to prove that they lived on Portion 13 when the court granted the eviction order in June 2009. The company also wants the beneficiaries to prove that they earn less than R13,625 per month and do not own a house elsewhere, which are requirements for beneficiaries in the Extension of Security of Tenure Act (Esta).

Joseph Skhosana, chairperson of the committee representing the 48 families, said they were not fazed by Cradle City’s latest court bid. 

“This is just a delaying tactic by this company not to pay us. They have all this information that they want us to present in court. We are not bothered by their court application because our lawyers will challenge it,” said Skhosana. 

The dispute is over Portion 13, agricultural land that had been vacant for years before the families started moving in and building shacks around 1993. Some of the occupants work at Lanseria Airport while others are artisans. 

The company entered into a settlement with the occupants in 2020 and had already paid R2,3m to 11 families when they discovered some discrepancies regarding some of the beneficiaries. The families were to be relocated to Portion 78. 

Cradle City legal representative Ruan Herbert, through his affidavit, claimed that they wanted the court to ensure that they were paying the right correct individuals. 

He said some of the beneficiaries had died a long time ago while others relocated to other provinces but left empty shack structures on the land. According to him, a deed search by his company showed that some beneficiaries owned bonded houses in Cosmo City and Pretoria.

“It is submitted that no true qualifying beneficiary can be prejudiced by the relief sought and that the relief sought is to the benefit of all the parties who took part in this litigation from the onset ...To leave the order as it stands, based on a possible common error as to the qualification of the named respondents or otherwise or possible intentional misrepresentation of the fact, would be to the prejudice of the persons for whose benefit the settlement agreement was crafted,” read Herbert's affidavit.

The disputed land was planned for the development of SA’s first city to be planned around the airport. The city was to have a mix of residential, commercial, office, retail, hotel and a resort.

Sowetan visited the original farm where the residents used to live and only found three abandoned shacks that were locked with just a wire. Inside was just building materials.

At Portion 78 there are only five families who live in shacks and share two communal toilets made of iron sheets. There rest of the toilet has collapsed. The families rely on communal taps.

Skhosana said most of the people had left the area a long time ago.

“They were tired of waiting for the settlement payout. The Esta is not fair because some of the beneficiaries are the children of first occupiers and they had to go and live elsewhere, and now have good jobs, hence they own bonded houses. It doesn’t mean they should not benefit from the settlement,” Skhosana said. 

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