September 25, 2005

Illegal demolition of a protected Building, building and occupation of a newly constructed building without approval of plans and an illegal encroachment over a street boundary

Letter written by the Tulbagh Residents /Inwoners Forum to the Witzenberg Municipality and various Provincial and Government Departments about the encroachment of a building to approximately 4,8 m over the street boundary of the main street of Tulbagh - taking away almost all of the remaining one and only pavement in the CBD without public consultation, is available for Public information.

The responses by the Municipality are unacceptable!
The Municipality have not followed due process and have allowed the developer to get away with it, to presumably cover up 'the mud on their faces' as a result of their apparent inability to work within the regulation / laws governing demolitions of protected buildings, building without plans, encroachment over a road reserve without a road closure application (where the public would be given an opportunity to object), allowing occupation of a building that does not comply with the regulations and their failure to insist upon a Departure Application whereby the public would have the right to object also - which is the norm!
No action has been taken in respect of this letter by the municipality, or the higher tiers of Government.  The Municipality does not even work within the requirements of the Provincial Ordinance and nobody appears to care! Does this mean that the rule of Law has broken down in this Municipality? Are we to understand that we can all do what we like from now on?
Western Cape Heritage gave permission after the fact. The Provincial Roads Department did likewise. Are all these authorities just doing what they like without due regard to the rights of the ordinary citizen? Is this the beginning of the end?
Copies of the letter were written to all the relevant authorities and Government structures and this illicit only one response from any of them - which set out the procedure - that the Municipality did not follow! The other Authorities did not even have the courtesy to respond!
So where does this leave the ordinary citizen?  Must a member of the public have to make a case to the Constitutional Court (as his or her expense), or the Public protector, just to get the Authorities to perform in terms of their obligations?
Is this a example where the Public Service believes that they are no longer accountable to the citizens of the country? Perhaps it can only be interpreted as either sheer arrogance or incompetence?

Letter by the Residence/Ratepayers Forum to the Municipality
Povincial Department of Local Government response
Municipality Response 1