"We are over the moon that this has finally come to an end," said Mgcini Gxamza, a headman and resident of Mill Farm near Port Alfred.
"We are over the moon that this has finally come to an end," said Mgcini Gxamza, a headman and resident of Mill Farm near Port Alfred.
Gxamza, together with co-headmen Bonisile Siyazi and Bonisile Ben, has been involved in a battle with Ndlambe Municipality for the past three years after the municipality allegedly demolished houses belonging to some of the farm residents in 2006.
The farm, which is home to three families, was previously owned by Johannes Espeseth until 2002 when he sold it to Ndlambe Municipality.
Despite an agreement in the conditions of sale that the three families were entitled to continue living there, Gxamza said the demolition of the houses was a sign to try and force the families off the farm.
Gxamza and the other headmen reported the matter to the police and former Ndlambe Municipal Manager, George Ngesi but "nothing came of it".
According to Gxamza, the municipality also allegedly chopped down the residents’ vegetable crop in order to make space for a Local Economic Development (LED) essential oils project.
This was despite the agreement stating that the relevant family members should only vacate the premises upon the death or relocation of either of the three headsmen.
This week Gxamza told <itals>Grocott’s Mail<end itals> that their cries have at last been heard by the municipality.
He said the families will now benefit from the original agreement with one of the conditions being that they wont be liable for occupational rent. "We are very happy that we got the land back. The only thing we are waiting for is implementation," said Gxamza.
He expressed his gratitude for the role the media has played in highlighting the matter. "We are grateful for the listening ear we got from the media, our breakthrough came because of them," he added.
Gxamza made it clear that the residents are not planning to claim damages from the municipality as he feels it is "best to keep our relationship on the right track as will need their [municipality’s] help for a way forward."
