Time is ticking for illegal occupants of the GD Montshioa Airport in Mahikeng, North West, to vacate the premises.
This after the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management said the 14-days period given to the illegal occupants of the government owned aviation facilities at the George Dick Montshioa International Airport in Mahikeng is sufficient for them to vacate the premises by next week.
This was revealed by MEC Wessels Morweng, during a media briefing in Mahikeng on Monday.
Morweng’s ultimatum follows a social media controversy around a video he posted on his Facebook account where he can be seen ‘confronting’ some of the illegal occupants of the facilities.
“As part of my duties, I was conducting an oversight and I visited the airport upon my arrival I discovered that there were illegal occupants of the airports which I ordered them to immediately vacate government buildings,” said Morweng, who was speaking on YOU FM Newshour.
The MEC said he established that previous several attempts to remove those illegally occupying their facilities had yielded no positive results.
“I took that video, which I personally shared on my personal Facebook account because I am accountable to the people.
As leaders, if we do not expose these things in the court of public opinion we appear as accomplices hence I deliberately posted the video on my socials because I am not part to any crime.
I’m not part to any wrongdoing especially on behalf of the people.
If you listen closely to the video, I introduced myself to the gentlemen I was talking to, and told him I am sent by the people of the North West to remove you because I meant exactly that,” explained the MEC.
Morweng warned that the illegal occupants have until next week to vacate the airport’s buildings.
“They will go, and if they don’t go, we are going to forcefully remove them because there’s no other thing that binds us.
We don’t even need an eviction order from the court because the eviction order applies when you have an agreement.
I was once confronted by the similar situation when I was working at the Department of Sports as the Director for Recreation were there were people occupying the Rustenburg Recreation Centre illegally.
I spoke to them, and they refused to vacate the premises but I went to look for a private security that eventually evicted them even if I must do that this time around, I will do that,” warned the MEC.
Meanwhile, Morweng said plans are afoot to resuscitate the same airport, the Pilanesberg Airport near Sun City and the Pilanesberg National Park.
‘You would recall that we would soon to conclude a process of leasing the airport to the potential bidders following the advertisement of a tender.
My expectations are that when those people come, they’ll find the building intact for them to utilise them, for whatever agreement we will enter with them which in the main is to ensure that the airport is utilised again to drive the economy of the province,” concluded the MEC.
