Dear Editor
The DA has a Bill before Parliament that will stop illegal land grabs and invasions being politically incited – because the DA is committed to addressing the cause of illegal land grabs, not just the symptom of them.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi should turn away from his demolition agenda, to bash down people’s homes, and instead support legal reform that will criminalise these incited land invasions.
No Premier Lesufi, you will not bulldoze informal settlements at 2am at night to solve the problem. The solution is changing the law, and enforcing it.
Lesufi is a posterchild of the ANC’s failed approach to housing people in need. These are desperate people preyed upon by political actors and organised criminals, to invade land. Often the stands are “sold” by the political instigators.
That must be stopped by legal means – not only by going in with a bulldozer.
If Lesufi truly wanted to solve the problem, he would direct his ANC party and its members in Parliament to take up the legitimate route already on the table: the DA’s Bill before the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements. Unlike Lesufi’s grandstanding, our Bill addresses the problem in a real way.
The DA’s proposed amendments to the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) Act will:
- Criminalise the incitement and organisation of land grabs – even when no money changes hands – and increase jail time for offenders.
- Expand the criteria courts must consider when ruling on evictions, including intent, financial means and previous living arrangements.
- Require courts to set clear timeframes for alternative housing, ending the indefinite drain on municipal resources.
The DA is ready to stop these bad-faith actors, often political opportunists, who illegally sell uninhabitable land, profit from people’s desperation, and then leave municipalities scrambling to spend billions on emergency services.
Every cent wasted on this is stolen away from law-abiding citizens waiting their turn for proper housing. It is a disgrace that Lesufi is propping up this system.
The DA’s Bill provides a legitimate pathway to protect the vulnerable, uphold property rights, and free municipalities from the endless cycle of invasions. That’s the work of responsible government, not midnight bulldozers and scapegoating.
The ANC should get on board to change the law, not take the law into their own hands.
Regards
Luyolo Mphithi MP
DA Spokesperson on Human Settlements