Afrikaner-only settlement in Pretoria risks demolition

Kleinfontein, an Afrikaner-only development east of Pretoria, has expressed “disappointment” in the City of Tshwane’s court action against the settlement.

Kleinfontein is among approximately 17 illegal developments within the capital city.

The area comprises roughly 650 housing units, along with facilities such as an old-age home, community hall, shopping center, school building, and a light industrial zone.

Recently, the City of Tshwane filed an urgent application in the Gauteng High Court, seeking an order to force Kleinfontein Aandeleblok (Pty) Ltd to update and supplement a development application that has been pending under outdated legislation since 2013.

The city wants the court to direct the company to hand over all required information within 30 days of any request, failing which, Tshwane will return to court on the same papers to seek a demolition order against the illegal buildings.

This latest move follows a ruling by the same court last year, which ordered Tshwane to enforce town-planning and building control laws in Kleinfontein without delay.

In that judgment, the court said that “the directors and their predecessors have shown themselves capable of egregious and criminal behavior, insidiously evading laws relating to municipal planning and building regulation.”

MMC for Human Settlements Aaron Maluleke said an August 2024 Gauteng High Court ruling confirmed Kleinfontein’s governing body had failed to submit the necessary land-use paperwork.

“The city has classified Kleinfontein as an illegal township, effectively an informal settlement,” he said.

Kleinfontein remains zoned for agriculture, meaning properties cannot be used for housing without rezoning.

“It needs to be properly rezoned so that the city can start collecting rates and taxes. We have lost millions of rands,” Maluleke said, promising to “regularise them” while working with the community.

Kleinfontein community spokesperson, Dannie de Beer, expressed “disappointment” in the move and said that a new application will be pricy.

“Naturally, Kleinfontein is disappointed with the court action from Tshwane, instead of engaging with the community in talks and sitting around the table, Tshwane has decided not only to take the community to court, but also threaten them with demolition.”

“As far as we know, we are the only community, settlement that is being threatened by Tshwane this way. We take exception to it.”

De Beer previously insisted they had already submitted rezoning documents, including wetland studies and zoning plans

Earlier this year, Rian Genis, chairperson of the board of directors, alleged that the city has made empty promises to address their application through previous executive mayors, without taking concrete action.

“Every single mayor prior to the DA mayor promised us that they will assist us to formalise the settlement. We have a formalisation application that is pending and that formalisation application has been pending since 2011,” he said.

The community says that it is self-reliant, having constructed its own sewage system, water boreholes, and managing refuse disposal without depending on the municipality for services.