20 August 2019 – To ensure the safety of community members, the Secunda Sheriff with assistance from a private security company and the SAPS, evicted a group of unlawful land occupiers in Evander. The occupiers had built structures on land owned by the Sakhisizwe Communal Property Association (CPA) and a registered servitude of Sasol Mining.
Amongst reasons placed before the court (when Sakhisizwe CPA and Sasol Mining obtained a court interdict on 4 December 2018) is that the area is unstable and prone to cracking due to past and current mining operations. The illegal occupants therefore face serious safety risks.
In the spirit of openness, transparency and mutual respect, the Secunda Sheriff on multiple occasions engaged with the unlawful Sakhisizwe occupants and served them with a notice and court order informing them to move.
Regrettably the notice and court order were both ignored and the community continued to build more informal houses, leading to forced evictions by the Sheriff.
Sasol always aims to proactively engage stakeholders and to build mutually beneficial relationships. The eviction action was a last resort after numerous unsuccessful engagements with the community.
Sasol Head of Group Media Relations, Mr Alex Anderson said the safety and security of Sakhisizwe community members remains a top priority.
He further advised the community members to refrain for paying any monies to individuals to buy stands on Sakhisizwe as this land is unsafe and not for sale.