the Red Ants | Radio 94.7 FM

The Freedom Front Plus on Tuesday warned that the suspension of the Red Ants’ business registration was alarming and opened the door for illegal land occupations and land grabs.

The FF Plus was reacting to reports that the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSiRA) had suspended the business registration of Red Ant Security Relocation and Eviction Services, following the demolitions of illegal structures in Alexandra in May.

The party said it seemed that PSiRA had given in to political pressure to take action against the Red Ants.

“The Red Ants usually only take action after obtaining a warrant and the FF Plus assumes that the company did that in this case as well so the party, therefore, sees no grounds for the allegation that the company acted outside of its mandate,” the FF Plus said.

It said the fact that the company’s hands were now tied opened the door for large-scale land occupations.

“Open spac
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Photos taken six months apart show how land grabs have engulfed parts of Stefan Smit’s farm, as Stellenbosch enters another land dispute.

Aerial pictures of Stefan Smit’s private vineyards – and the squatter camp that has encroached on his land – have revealed how the land grabs in Stellenbosch are unfolding. The 62-year-old spoke to the New York Times about the situation, as the Cape Winelands becomes a reluctant battleground over land-ownership.

Last year, we saw another very high-profile case unfold in the heart of the province’s wine-making country. The owners of Louiesenhof Wines were granted an interdict by the Western Cape High Court to remove unoccupied structures and to prevent any additional people from setting up on a piece of vacant land owned by the estate.

The occupation on Watergang started in August. The court order prevented the landowners from dismantling any occupied shacks, however. Around 100 structures went up
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