- Construction work began without landowners’ permission on parts of the Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains, causing damage to existing structures.
- The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency hired a contractor in 2023 to upgrade the area, leading to legal battles.
- The court did not stop the work permanently but agreed that important questions need to be decided by a higher court.
The Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains in Mpumalanga are some of the oldest and most scientifically important mountains on Earth. Because of their amazing geological history, rocks that are about 3.6 billion years old, UNESCO declared this site a World Heritage Site in 2018.
The area includes 13 special spots called geosites. To help visitors explore, there is a self-drive route with places for parking, benches, and signs.
The Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA) is responsible for looking after the site. In 2023, it gave a contract worth about R12 million to a company named Siphelele General Trading to fix and improve the Geotrail’s facilities.
But the trouble began because nine of those 13 geosites are on land owned by private people and companies. The owners, including Mountainlands Estate Owners Association and Sappi Southern Africa Limited, said the MTPA and its contractor started building without talking to them or getting their okay first. They said the construction damaged roads, walls, benches, and signs that were already there.
Supported by the Barberton Chamber of Business, these landowners took the MTPA and the contractor to court. They said the contractor trespassed and caused damage. They also complained that the contractor accidentally caused veld fires during the work.
What the court found
The court looked at whether the MTPA followed the right rules under the National Heritage Resources Act. This law says that before doing any construction on heritage sites, the responsible authority must talk to landowners and get permits.
The court agreed with the landowners that the construction happened without their permission and caused damage. However, the court did not immediately stop the work forever. This was because by the time the case was heard, the parties had agreed to pause construction in January 2024 while they talked through the problems.
Then, in July 2024, the South African Heritage Resources Agency officially ordered all work to stop. The court said this stop order helped protect the site for now.
Still, the landowners worried that the MTPA or its contractor might come back and start building again without their okay. So, they wanted a permanent court order to prevent that.
Appeals and important questions
One key legal point is about ownership. The landowners say they own the infrastructure on their land under something called the “principle of accession”. This means they believe things built on their land belong to them. The court said this point needs more study.
The court gave the landowners permission to appeal the decision that refused a permanent stop order. It also allowed the MTPA to appeal the court’s decision about who should pay legal costs.
Both sides will now take their appeals to a higher court in Mpumalanga. The appeals will look closely at who really owns the structures, if the MTPA followed the law, and what the right solutions should be.
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