SA squatters told to go

Some 1,200 shacks have sprung up in Kempton Park

South African police are bracing themselves for possible trouble after the country's High Court ordered the departure of thousands of squatters from their homes.

Where will I go? They should give us a place to stay,

Squatter Mzwakhe Mthethwa

They moved on to a barren plot of land near Johannesburg after paying about $3 each to the opposition Pan Africanist Congress.

Judge Carel Rabie told the packed courtroom that the squatters had to move within 48 hours, or their shacks would be taken down.

Lawyers for the 5,000 squatters were refused permission to appeal against the decision.

Large numbers of police reinforcements have been positioned around the 32,000 hectare site at Kempton Park which belongs to two farmers and three government agencies.

Land Affairs Minister Thoko Didiza has said that Zimbabwe-style land invasions will not be tolerated in South Africa, and the full force of the law will be brought to bear on illegal land occupiers.

Political row

PAC argues that the ruling ANC has failed to deliver on its promises of land, housing and free basic services and warns of rising unhappiness among black South Africans at the pace of the government's land reform programme.

Police and squatters clashed in February

The opposition party has called for an urgent summit to address the plight of poor South Africans.

The ANC accuses the PAC of being an organisation of agents provocateurs and opportunists, masquerading as a caring liberation movement.

A spokesman for the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, had also accused the PAC of viciously exploiting the hopes and dreams of poor people.

Concern

Lawyers for the government and a private company owning the land say they are concerned about the health of the squatters if they are allowed to stay.

They are going to move. Don't you worry.

Security Minister Steve Tshwete

About 1,200 shacks have been built on the land already, which is crossed by a shallow underground fuel pipe, a power pylon and a railway line. There is no sanitation or water supply.

Many of the squatters have vowed not to leave because they have nowhere else to live.

And fears of a Zimbabwe-style lawless land-grab have helped send the country's currency, the rand, into free-fall.

In 1994 when it came to power, the government embarked on an ambitious national strategy to build millions of new homes, but it has fallen short of its target.