The City of Tshwane has taken legal action against the controversial whites-only settlement of Kleinfontein, compelling it to file a new spatial planning and land use management application to legalize hundreds of dwellings built without proper municipal approval.
The move follows a court order that found the city was “complicit” in not acting against the settlement’s initial development. Housing MMC Aaron Maluleka, in an interview, stated the city is now enforcing its bylaws to ensure the settlement complies with the same rules as any other community.
“The clean Fontaine leadership is aware that for many years they were not compliant,” Maluleka said, referencing the approximately 650 dwellings constructed on privately owned land within the settlement. He emphasized that the issue is not racial but a matter of legal adherence to the city’s land use scheme, which was promulgated in 2016.
The settlement’s leaders have argued that submitting a new application would be prohibitively expensive. However, MMC Maluleka countered these claims, alleging that the community’s leadership has been illegally collecting rates and taxes from residents for years.
“What they’re not telling you… is that they’ve been collecting monies for the 650 dwellings,” Maluleka stated. “They should be treated like any other community that want to develop. Our applications are public. There’s no extra charge that is going to be imposed on the Kleinfontein community.”
The core of the dispute lies in the land’s zoning. The area is currently designated for agricultural use, which carries significantly lower rates than a formal, proclaimed township with individual household services. The city argues that by developing the land into a residential settlement without rezoning, Kleinfontein has avoided its full financial obligations for municipal services.
When pressed on the potential consequences of non-compliance, including the possibility of demolition orders, Maluleka stated the city had not yet reached that point.
“We haven’t arrived at that point,” he said, adding that the city is willing to engage with the community’s leadership. However, he warned that the city would “ventilate all the issues” in court if cooperation was not forthcoming.
Addressing concerns about the sensitive optics of challenging a racially exclusive settlement ahead of a national election, Maluleka insisted the city’s actions were purely administrative.
“There’s nothing racial, there’s nothing political. We are not going to elections about this matter. We are just enforcing bylaws,” he said, comparing the situation to the city’s actions against hijacked buildings and other illegal structures.
Kleinfontein is one of 17 illegal settlements, both affluent and impoverished, that the city has identified for regularization. Other areas mentioned include Moshate near the George Mukhari Hospital and a development in Mabopane.
The next step for Kleinfontein is a court process, though Maluleka indicated the city is awaiting the settlement’s leadership to submit their planning files to begin the formal engagement process.
