The eThekwini municipality stated that the provincial department has a standing court order in place to prevent land invasions on Blinkbonnie Road in Cato Manor. 

The municipality was responding to Ward 30 councillor Warren Burne’s letter that he wrote to the city manager Musa Mbhele on October 8, 2025, outlining his concerns over land grabbing and building houses on the pavements along Blinkbonnie Road. The Enkanini settlement, consisting of approximately 600 brick houses, is now deemed uncontrollable, according to Burne. It is situated near the Bonela housing scheme, which comprises 800 houses whose residents pay rates and for other municipal services.

In 2018, land grabbers occupied a vacant piece of land bordered by Blinkbonnie Road, Buckingham Road, Carlow Road, and Wiggins Road.  

Burne said that plots were sold by unscrupulous people. Shacks were built and enlarged with impunity. 

“While all this was happening, there was, and still is, no official supply of water and electricity to Enkanini. More ominously, there has never been any provision for the disposal of the wastewater and especially the sewer water and sewer solids from Enkanini,” he said. 

Burne said that there has been an absence of any action by officials arising from those inspections.

“Over the last 18 months or so, there has been a fundamental shift in the manner of construction of the buildings in Enkanini,” he said. 

Burne said that multi-storied buildings containing many rooms, in one instance believed to be 16 rooms, are then rented out for R2,000 per room each month. 

Burne stated that these buildings lack a formal metered supply for water and electricity. He added that while the buildings have flushing toilets, there are no formal connections for the outflow, with some sewer pipes routed into stormwater drains.

Furthermore, no one was paying municipal property rates, in contrast to the residents of Bonela and Sherwood surrounding Enkanini.

“The ongoing construction of these buildings has been pointed out to the building inspector for the area, but nothing has been done. The city should prevent the construction of any more buildings in Enkanini until some semblance of municipal governance is in place.” 

Burne suggested that the municipality make Enkanini livable as a feature of the landscape in Bonela, and make life more livable for the residents of the formal housing around Enkanini. 

eThekwini municipality marketing and communications director, Mandla Nsele, explained that all reported land invasion activities in the area are referred to the Land Invasion Control Unit for monitoring and coordination. However, the land in question is owned by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works and Human Settlements.

“The provincial department has a standing court order in place to prevent land invasions on this property, which it enforces through its contracted security service provider. As such, the province is the lead authority in implementing land invasion control measures on this land,” Nsele stated. 

The City’s Land Invasion Control Directorate, he added, does not have the legal standing to conduct demolitions on this portion of land. Nsele said that the Directorate remains readily available to provide support should the Provincial Department request assistance, noting that demolition operations are led by the province.

Concerning development planning, the Enkanini settlement has been categorised as a B1 (Incremental Upgrading with Essential Services) / B2 (Deferred Relocation with Emergency Services) settlement and forms part of the City’s database of 605 informal settlements.

While the settlement may be upgraded in the future, Nsele said that this is subject to a feasibility study to determine the land’s development potential and the extent of any relocations required. 

“Given that Enkanini is a relatively new settlement, prioritising it ahead of older and more established settlements would require guidance from council, particularly in light of limited funding,” he stated.

Nsele explained that several other informal settlements have been prioritised for relocation due to higher-risk conditions and special circumstances, which require more urgent attention. 

He said that this is further constrained by limited budget availability and a shortage of suitable decanting land.

“In the short to medium term, incremental or interim service interventions may be considered as an alternative to formal upgrading,” he said. 

These would require relevant municipal line directorates to make budgetary provisions in the 2026/2027 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) for services such as communal ablution facilities, electricity, roads, and pedestrian pathways.

“The city remains committed to working with provincial authorities and relevant stakeholders to manage land invasion matters responsibly while ensuring sustainable human settlements development,” Nsele stated.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

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