These are the words of Maggie Zeelie (68) who accepted R20 000 from PG Bison and moved out of the house she had lived in for decades, only to see demolished in front of her eyes the very next day.
Zeelie has lived on the old Rheenendal Farm, now known as Elandskraal, for 39 years. She and her late husband Hendrik Zeelie (75), who died of cancer two years ago, raised their four sons in the home, each centimetre of which, she says, tells a story of "sweat, blood, tears and joy".
She says only a heap of rubble remains of a lifetime of hardship made bearable only because they had a roof over their heads within a safe community that cared. “All that is left of a life filled with memories, paid for with manual labour in the Rheenendal forests, is this sad heap of rubble … as if we never existed.” Maggie Zeelie is inconsolable as she talks about her home, her life and the “very real fear of being out on the street with nowhere to go”.
Over a period of three years, PG Bison allegedly cut off her water supply, cut off her power supply and allowed the only access road to her home to fall into such a state of disrepair that she could not reach her front door. Furthermore, her windows and burglar bars were not fixed following repeated break-ins. Finally, she accepted R20 000 from PG Bison October last year to leave her home. Zeelie says when SANParks sold the land to PG Bison, it became clear to her that this corporate giant would not leave a stone unturned in its quest to get rid of her. “I held on for as long as possible, but in the end the bullying became too much and I buckled.” She moved into temporary accommodation in a garden cottage, offered to her by a member of the community, but she will have to find other accommodation at the end of this month.
PG Bison is the largest property owner in Knsyna and owns almost the entire Rheenendal (having acquired the Van Reenen forestry holdings in 2011/12).
“When they approached me I was alone in the house, my husband died and my sons were working elsewhere. Houses around me were being bulldozed. A Land Affairs official told me the company had clever lawyers in Cape Town and I had no choice. They used the words ‘bugger off’. So I took the money, they gave me a receipt and the next day the bulldozers came.” She says she had nowhere to store most of her belongings and she had to sell it for "next-to-nothing".
Zeelie walks through the rubble, remembering the fireplace and the ‘donkey’. “We had no geyser and had to pump our water from the tank, but it was a good life. We had a home filled with love. This is where Hendrik died. This is where we raised or children ... this was my garden ... here was a fence.”
PG Bison CEO Gary Chapman had earlier declined to comment on the R70 000 being offered to the Brackenhill community who find themselves in a similar situation, battling to get any services, and who also believe that they are being driven out (read articles in Knysna-Plett Herald of June 19 and August 7). Following a request for comment on Zeelie's eviction, Chapman wrote in a statement, “These are highly emotive issues, each with their own specific circumstances. As a listed company, we certainly try to deal with these issues in a responsible and sensitive manner and within the context of the law and people’s rights."
However, these evictions seems to be illegal according to the Extension of Security of Tenure Act of 1997 better known as the Esta Law.
Esta makes it very clear: Any decision about an eviction has to balance the right to property with the right to reasonable accommodation, resulting from a "just and equitable" settlement.
The law further states a person over the age of 60 who has lived in a property for more than ten years, has a right to life-long occupation. Constructive eviction, whereby occupants are 'squeezed out' is illegal. This law forces the municipality and landowners to find meaningful solutions before any evictions can take place. All evictions must be authorised by a court order.
Little clarity is needed on the principles established by the Constitutional Court about an eviction: It has to balance the right to property with the right to reasonable accommodation, resulting from a just and equitable settlement. A recent Constitutional Court judgement held that there must be meaningful engagement with the municipality and the community regarding evictions.
Not only are the evictions illegal, but it seems the demolition of heritage houses without the necessary permits is also not legal. No such permits exist, according to Knysna's municipal manager Lauren Waring. Mike Maughan Brown, Knysna's director: Spatial Development, says in a response to a complainant that certain aspects of the buildings' heritage value might have been "overlooked".
National eviction policy
Human Settlements minister, Lindiwe Sisulu wants to tighten the law on evictions and has asked private and state landowners to hold off evicting people. Last month, she announced that she she would seek to engage with the Constitutional Court and the Judiciary on how the law governing evictions is applied.
Human Rights lawyers disagreed that there was any need to clarify the law. The Centre for Constitutional Rights' legal officer Phephelaphi Dube agrees. She believes the Constitution and the Act establish a solid framework for evictions. 'There is absolutely no need for clarity. The law is quite clear. Any decision about an eviction has to balance the right to property with the right to reasonable accommodation resulting from a just and equitable settlement and local government has a key-role to play in ensuring this happens."
Southern Cape Land Committee
Angela Conway, representative of the Southern Cape Land Committee, is advising anyone who does not want to move not to seek help. “Until there is a court order, and even then, seek help." She appeals to people in this position to phone the Committee at 044 803 9904.
Demolitions
The Old Van Rheenen Farm lies behind the well-known Totties eatery. It looks like a war zone. Five houses have been demolished and heaps of rubble are lying around. According to the residents who remain, the battle will continue. “If they can bulldoze us out. They will!” says one resident who has not accepted PG Bison’s offer. He has been living in the forestry house for 29 years. "I'll rather die than leave."
According to Zeelie all five homes that have been demolished so far, were older than 40 years. “The families that lived in them are scattered around. They are buildings, but people lived in them. It is as if we were never here."
The Phantom-Homtini Nature Conservancy (PHNC) issued a media statement in which they outline their concerns about the demolition of forestry workers' homes in Rheenendal on land owned by PG Bison.
The PHNC was alerted to the situation on May 4, and expressed their concerns in writing to both the general manager of PG Bison Southern Cape and the Knysna Municipality. “PG Bison thanked us for our input on the matter whilst Knysna Municipality's director: Planning and Development favoured us with a detailed explanation of the complexities of the issue and the assurance that any demolition of forestry cottages would be in compliance with the law. Notwithstanding the reponses from PG Bison and Knysna Municipality, we also wrote to the offices of Heritage Western Cape within the Provincial Department Of Cultural Affairs And Sport who, in turn, have been in contact with the general manager: PG Bison Southern Cape.”
Rob Ellis, chairman of the PHNC, says one of the many sensitive issues associated with this matter is determining the precise age of the cottages in question. “We are in the process of exploring whether or not suitable aerial survey photography exists from forty years ago - forty years being the age, apparently, which triggers the requirement of demolition permission from Heritage Western Cape.”
Maggie Zeelie (68) at the heap of rubble that was once her home.
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