Pretoria - EFF PR councillor Godwin Ratikwane from Olievenhoutbosch has denied claims that he was behind mobilising people to illegally occupy land in the area.
This comes after the DA in Gauteng wrote to Tshwane Speaker Dr Murunwa Makwarela, asking him to investigate Ratikwane’s breaking the Code of Conduct of councillors by acting in an dishonest manner.
On the weekend, the Tshwane Metro Police Department, the SAPS and the Johannesburg Metro Police Department, together with private security providers, responded to various calls to halt illegal land grabs in the township.
A group of community members were spotted illegally settling on land next to the R55, after a tweet allegedly posted by the EFF calling on them to get plots of land for free.
The tweet in question named Ratikwane as a person to be contacted in connection with the land occupation.
DA Gauteng MPL, Crezane Bosch asked the Speaker to investigate Ratikwane “for breaching the Code of Conduct for councillors by inciting trespassing and unlawful land occupation”.
She said the Code was binding for all councillors “to act in good faith, honesty, always in the best interest of the municipality, and in such a way that the integrity and credibility of the municipality are not compromised”.
She said the illegal land occupation “coincided with a tweet from the official account of the EFF in which it invited all comers to ”get land for free“.
“The tweet cited councillor Godwin Ratikwane, an EFF PR councillor in the area, as the relevant contact person. A day later Ratikwane also retweeted EFF messages about the progress of the unlawful land invasions,” she said.
Speaking to the Pretoria News, Ratikwane distanced himself from the tweet, saying that it was not written by him but by people saying things about him without his consent.
“What was said has not been said by myself. I think they are relying on twitter messages where people say there is land that has been taken in this particular area and for more information contact so and so,” he said.
He said he had since asked that the messages be deleted “because I am not the one spearheading the programme”.
“However, my role is to provide support because the EFF does, indeed, support the programme of land expropriation without compensation itself because it is the EFF-led programme by the two chairpersons in the two wards that are concerned,” he said.
Ratikwane said his job as EFF PR councillor deployed in both ward 106 and 107 was to assist the branches that have issues.
“So the community has expropriated land and the EFF position is that land must be expropriated without compensation. I know there is a thin line and people tend to want to cross it for political reasons,” he said.
Bosch accused the EFF of being desperate to destabilise the multi-party government in Tshwane “having failed this past week, along with the ANC, in their attempt to remove Mayor Randall Williams as the mayor in a motion of no confidence”.
“While the EFF is quick to encourage land grabs, they are usually nowhere to be seen when homes built on unsuitable land are flooded or unserviceable,” she said.
Bosch said the DA will be writing to the SAPS in Gauteng to include Ratikwane in their investigation “and to act with speed and resolve against all instances of trespassing and unlawful land invasions”.
Pretoria News