Kouga Municipality to take on land invaders
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A legal battle is looming over a piece of prime land in Jeffreys Bay that has been invaded by a Khoi chief who plans to establish a Khoi cultural village there.
Wayne Petersen and his family occupied the state-owned land at Papiesfontein — said to be a critical conservation area — in December, cattle in tow, and with big plans to create a traditional village where Khoi culture could be taught.
But this plan has not gone down well with conservationists who say Papiesfontein contains some of the last and best portions of Humansdorp shale renosterveld, vegetation that is “100% endemic to the Eastern Cape province”.
The Kouga Municipality, meanwhile, is going to court to halt the construction Petersen has already begun on the prime piece of land.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has also opened a criminal complaint with police after allegations that Petersen was illegally tapping into the metro’s bulk water supply, which runs from the Churchill Dam through Papiesfontein.
In Behind The Herald Headlines with Daron Mann this week, we speak to Petersen and Kouga Municipality mayor Horatio Hendricks.
Wayne Petersen and his family occupied the state-owned land at Papiesfontein — said to be a critical conservation area — in December, cattle in tow, and with big plans to create a traditional village where Khoi culture could be taught.
But this plan has not gone down well with conservationists who say Papiesfontein contains some of the last and best portions of Humansdorp shale renosterveld, vegetation that is “100% endemic to the Eastern Cape province”.
The Kouga Municipality, meanwhile, is going to court to halt the construction Petersen has already begun on the prime piece of land.
The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has also opened a criminal complaint with police after allegations that Petersen was illegally tapping into the metro’s bulk water supply, which runs from the Churchill Dam through Papiesfontein.
In Behind The Herald Headlines with Daron Mann this week, we speak to Petersen and Kouga Municipality mayor Horatio Hendricks.
