The Red Ants were paid to evict us!!! by

The availability of land for the purpose of building the RDP houses is the biggest challenge for many municipalities in South Africa. We all know that land is a sensitive issue, and the government policies to deal with it have always been under attack. In 2013, when the Matlosana municipality Mayor, Mike Kgauwe heard the news that the residents of zone 5 in Khuma township occupied the land illegally, he acted swiftly and contracted the well known Red Ants to evict the desperate people of Khuma. About one hundred and fifty shacks were erected in open field in Zone 5 by the people who need houses. “We were given a notice to voluntarily remove the shacks and move out of the land”. Said Tshidiso Kandanisi of Khuma. The mayor visited the township few weeks after hearing about the land grab and warned the khuma residents that the land was dolomitic, and could not be earmarked for human settlement. In a radio interviews with the local radio, star fm, he stressed that people will be evicted from the land because it is not suitable for settlement due to the impact of the mining activities. This means the mines which had operated in Khuma and Stilfontein area had destroyed the land due to blasting.
Even today the Khuma landless people are continuing to suffer the land ordeal caused by the mines with no price to pray. For the Befful no 10, mine operating in close proximity to Khuma Zone 5, it is business as usual. There is no dialogue on the matter to deal with the problem and find remedial actions and prevent future damage to the land. A 38 year old Tshidiso Kandanisi said, “it is hurting at my age to find myself staying with my parents, the municipality and the mine must deal with this land problem, we cannot wait any longer”.
Many mining companies in Klerksdorp get away with serious harm to the environment and land. In 2005 the Justice and Peace in Klerksdorp was dealing with a case of unrehabilitated land (deep pothole) left by the DRD, Durban Roodeport Deep Mine next to the Dawkinsville area and the Matlosana landfill site