Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE Act), No. 19 of 1998, Amendment Bill

1951 Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, Act No. 52 was a piece of colonial-era legislation in South Africa that allowed for the forced removal of individuals deemed to be "squatters" from public or private land. In 1998 it was repealed by the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act (PIE Act), No. 19. The PIE Act was introduced to protect the rights of unlawful occupiers and ensure evictions were conducted in a manner consistent with the principles of the 1996 Constitution. In 1998 the constitution of 1996 was envisaged it would undo colonial legacy and foster equality. Everyone who voted in 1994 thought their vote will redeem them from a need to be forcefully removed because they are deemed to be "squatters" from public or private land. 1994 manifesto created voters who could have never imaged that in 2024 there will be a need to ammend PIE to sunction penalties for individuals who incite or organize illegal land invasions, targeting orchestrated occupations that disrupt city planning and public resources. There are two fundamental wrongs with this proposed bill. The first problem is that if government had created economic policies that supported black South Africans to self-actualise. But Democratic Economic Policies create economic aimed to keep black people government dependent- as a result black people are squatters. This act is made for their eviction. The second problem is the worse problem. DA secured Western Cape through inciting vigilantism through PAGAD. This meant ANC and all other parties could not access communities that bought into PAGAD vigilantism. PAGAD was armed and used to secure DA permanent ownership of the province. Now it has imported American Gangstarism Culture in WC to secure its power.. They are so good at this, that even PA is struggling to undo its network. However, the PAGAD story is nothing. The bigger and more relevant story is Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM), also known as the Shack Dwellers Movement. This organisation was not only founded by DA in 2005 in Durban. But post democracy informal settlements creation were funded by DA through corvet NGO’s. The were notorious for big road blockade that organized approximately 750 residents of the Kennedy Road shack settlement to protest unmet government promises regarding land and housing. This act of defiance united 12 settlements in Durban and became the catalyst for the formation of a broader movement. Since then, Abahlali baseMjondolo has grown into a powerful grassroots organization advocating for land, housing, and human dignity for marginalized communities across South Africa.Abahlali has expanded its reach beyond KwaZulu-Natal to include members in provinces like Western Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and the Eastern Cape, representing over 700 community chapters. The movement remains committed to fighting for socioeconomic justice, opposing xenophobia, and resisting evictions and violence against shack dwellers. If you go to the records of eLwandle Housing Commision of Enquiry that was instituted by Minister Lindiwe Sisulu- ypu will find records of Abahlali Basemjondolo accounting how they assisted those communities by offering the court litigation. Now DA through this Bill wants to monopolise creation of informal settlements because they have enough litigation budget. They enjoy lighting the fire and extinguishing it. This is without suggesting that USAID is aiding them. But their NGO’s primaryly exist to promote the Rule of Law. USAID exist primarily to promote Rule of Law in “Developing Countries”. ANC seem to be convinced that supporting this Bill will be harmless- ANC will have to be careful. ANC must reflect on social media propoaganda of ANC volonteers that were being chased away by community. Even though the propaganda itself was quickly neutralised. The ammendment of this act will lead to dominantly African parties soon struggle to access informal settlements… if you do not believe go to CAPE METRO informal settlements…To understand this please read https://www.academia.edu/125678259/Fundamentals_of_Conciliation_in_Cases_of_Trust_Deficit_when_Everyone_is_just_Mendacious?auto=download