Who gave the green light?

Date: 23 April 2022 By: Andries van Zyl

The Makhado Municipality finally broke its silence regarding the large-scale debushing of the area north of Stubbs Street in Louis Trichardt that has, over the past couple of weeks, raised some eyebrows. The matter has also now attracted the attention of the Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Directorate (ECED).

Bush clearing started around mid-March, and while some welcomed the possibility that any development in the area will bring much-needed economic growth to the town, others were left fuming. The latter include environmentalist who have vehemently opposed attempts to develop the area in the past, stating that the area forms part of the town’s sensitive “Green Belt” buffer zone.

The Makhado Municipality was first asked about the activities in the park on 25 March this year. Only a week later, on 1 April, did Makhado municipal spokesperson Mr Louis Bobodi reply by merely stating: “The debushing is being done by the municipality as a layout preparation for the installation of service infrastructure for Extension 9.”

Since their reply on 1 April, the Makhado Municipality has remained mum on follow-up questions regarding what exactly is envisaged for the area. The area in question has been earmarked for development since 1984, when the establishment of 179 new residential erven, five parks and streets were Gazetted. Nothing happened ever since, until the Makhado Municipality sold the area on public Tender 47 of 2004 to Day Break Properties 7 (DBP7) for a purchase price of R15,3 million. DBP7 intended to develop this area into a large shopping centre, a 150-bed hotel, and an office complex.

Once again nothing happened for some time. What also soon became clear was that the current activities in the area had nothing to do with DBP7. Upon enquiry, company director Mr Vino Ramjee said they knew nothing of what was happening, although they held the environmental impact assessment (EIA) to the site, which was extended until November 2023. Ramjee said that they had instructed their lawyers to start with legal proceedings against the municipality as they processed the Deed of Sale to the property. Although they had indeed signed the Deed of Sale in November 2006, Ramjee admitted that they had never actually paid a sent for the property as payment was subject to an amendment to the contract that the Makhado Municipality should supply enough electricity to the proposed development. This, Ramjee said, never happened and thus they never paid.

What the newspaper did manage to confirm “unofficially”, in the absence of a response from the municipality at that stage, was that the process of bush-clearing in the park seems to be a combined Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA) and Makhado Municipality project awarded to Rhandzo Projects (Pty) Ltd under contract number COGHSTAB19/18-19FY24. The contract description reads: “Conduct geotechnical investigation, design and install engineering services (water and sewer reticulation, grading of all roads, fire-hydrants and provision for house connections) for 420 sites around Louis Trichardt.” Whether the 400+ sites were to be established in the area originally earmarked for 179 sites was not clear, which begged the question: Are these going to be sites for low-cost housing?

The Makhado Municipality finally broke its silence about the matter on Tuesday. Bobodi indicated that the current development in the area is taking place in accordance with the town’s existing town-planning scheme for the establishment of 179 new residential sites as was Gazetted in 1984. He said that they were not deviating from the town-planning scheme.

Regarding DBP7’s claim of ownership of the property, Bobodi’s response was brief. “Day Break never paid for the site as per Council agreement,” he said. As far as the Zoutpansberger could establish, the decision to “cancel” Council’s agreement with DBP7 was taken as far back as August of 2018 during the municipality’s 136^th Special Council meeting, under Item A.140.30.08.18. The resolution, among other things, reads: “THAT the Municipality withdraw any agreement under Tender no 47 of 2004 on development and sale of undeveloped portion of Louis Trichardt Extension 9 township.”

In terms of who is funding the development, Bobodi confirmed that this is indeed a combined project between them and CoGHSTA. “The municipality has applied for assistance from CoGHSTA, which was subsequently granted to put the engineering services together,” said Bobodi.

On the question of whether these 420 sites mentioned in the CoGHSTA contract were for this specific site and whether the development would be considered “low-cost” housing properties, Bobodi’s answer was evasive. “The municipality is prioritising services first and the rest will follow,” he said.

The biggest question Bobodi refrained from answering, however, is whether the municipality or CoGHSTA had conducted an EIA on the site or acquired environmental authorisation before proceeding with the project. To all questions relating to this, Bobodi merely replied “Not applicable”.

However, whether the municipality and CoGHSTA had obtained environmental authorisation before proceeding with the contract is indeed relevant. The Zoutpansberger can confirm that the issue has attracted the attention of the ECED, who has launched an investigation into the matter. In the meantime, construction work on the site seems to have stopped. Whether this has anything to do with the investigation remains unclear. Some people say they just stopped because of all the rain.

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Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

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