RESIDENTS cheered as shacks were being demolished on Tuesday.
According to the residents of Msholozi in Mpumalanga, the squatters occupied land earmarked for a school and had to be evicted by the Mbombela Municipality.
Thembi Khoza told Daily Sun their kids were at schools far from the area.
She said their prayers for a school were finally answered after many protests and they were waiting for construction to start.
Another resident said there was also a problem with the container classrooms at Boschrand Primary School.
Maven Nkosi, a parent, said the containers must be moved to the open area because a home owner whose property was used by the children to get to school had allegedly locked the gate, blocking the pathway to the school.
“We warned the school about this,” said Sifiso Mkhonto.
A man who had built a three-roomed house on the land said they received eviction letters from the municipality and were given 24-hours notice. “We tried to negotiate with them but they didn’t listen.
“Now I’ve lost my property and I have nowhere to go,” said the man.
Education spokesman Jasper Zwane said they were committed to the construction of the new school.
“MEC Sibusiso Malaza and executive mayor Sibusiso Mathonsi recently confirmed this at a meeting with the community.”
He said moving the containers to the land was a problem as there couldn’t be a school on a construction site. Mbombela Municipality was not available for comment.
