CAPE TOWN: Deputy Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Sihle Zikalala, has issued eviction notices to more than 100 illegal occupants who have taken over state-owned properties, including two sites in Goodwood and Khayelitsha originally allocated to the South African Police Service.
The eviction orders form part of Operation Bring Back (OBB), a nationwide initiative to recover hijacked, stolen, and illegally occupied government land and buildings.
According to the department, many of the targeted properties were vacated by state departments and left unmanaged, making them vulnerable to illegal occupation.
Hijacked property
In Goodwood, a residential property donated by the late Clair Shelly Boulton to the police for use in combating drug abuse has been hijacked.
The site, once a police resource, is now reportedly being used as a drug den and currently houses 12 illegal occupants, including children, living in temporary structures.
Meanwhile, near Khayelitsha, a 946-hectare farm allocated for police mixed use — including residential accommodation and policing operations — has also been illegally occupied.
Following the redeployment of police officials, several houses on the property were left vacant, leading to the rapid spread of informal settlements on the land.
Illegal occupation
Zikalala cautioned that hijacked properties are not only targeted by desperate families but also by criminal syndicates, NGOs, and opportunistic individuals posing as landlords to collect rent from vulnerable tenants.
“Illegal occupation and hijacking of government properties is extensive and underestimated.
“Poor management by departments failing to return vacated assets is worsening the problem,” he said.
Deadline to vacate
The deadline for occupants to vacate expired at 23:59 on Sunday 31 August. Those who remain face court action and forced removal under the Prevention of Illegal Eviction (PIE) and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, 19 of 1998. Zikalala said the OBB campaign will be intensified in coming months, supported by property specialists to audit, evict, and recover illegally occupied assets.
When contacted for comment, Goodwood station commander Col Shaun Van Wyk said the matter fell outside his jurisdiction. The provincial police had not responded by the time of going to print.
The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure confirmed that the Goodwood property had once been owned by an elderly woman who, in her will, directed it be transferred to the police to support the fight against drugs. It was initially occupied by police before being leased out for commercial use. Once the lease ended, however, the site was abandoned, leaving it exposed to hijacking.
