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SAPOA wins key battle against illegal land use in Polokwane

1 Jul 2013

The commercial and industrial property sector has won a key battle against illegal land uses in the Northern Province city of Polokwane, through the persistent intervention of the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) and its legal department.

Neil Gopal: “We look forward to a successful resolution of these issues with the help of the Mayor and municipality.”

After almost a year of pursuing different channels of complaint, the association has finally secured a meeting with the Mayor of Polokwane to discuss property owners' concerns.

Also due to its lobbying, the first steps have been taken to legally tackle these illegal uses. The city's chief planner, Fanie Muleya confirmed last week that a court order has been granted to impound illegal billboards. The city will be cleaning up all remaining illegal activities in due course.

'A growing problem'

"It was brought to SAPOA's attention last year that there was a growing problem with illegal land uses in Polokwane," explains CEO of SAPOA, Neil Gopal. The association immediately submitted a formal complaint to the municipality."

When SAPOA did not receive a response, the matter was directed to the provincial Office of the Public Protector, which investigated and again forwarded the complaint to Polokwane municipal officials, affording it an opportunity to respond. When SAPOA again received no response, the decision was made to escalate the complaint to the national Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela.

However, the association decided to make one last effort with the municipality by sending the complaint to the Mayor, which was resulted in the upcoming meeting. "We look forward to a successful resolution of these issues with the help of the Mayor and municipality," adds Gopal.