Eldorado Park protests: City to meet with community leaders

8 May 2017

Today,  protesting residents of Eldorado Park, Lenasia South and Freedom Park blockaded the N12 east and west freeway, the Misgund Interchange as well as the Golden Highway routes, negatively affecting traffic in the direction of Lenasia and Grasmere.

According to reports, the protesters in question are calling for new housing developments, enhanced service delivery and economic development within the area. To address the situation, officials from the City have committed to meeting with community leaders to discuss the various issues raised by the protesters.

We recognise the frustrations of this community, following years of mismanagement and neglect in our City. We hear their pleas for dignified housing and economic opportunities.

We ask our residents for patience as we work tirelessly to create a more inclusive and prosperous city. There are no quick fixes to the enormous infrastructure and service delivery backlogs we have inherited and we are committed to ensuring that they are progressively addressed.

Later this month we will be tabling our budget for the 2017/18 financial year, and this will be our first opportunity to ensure that the forgotten people of Johannesburg are placed at the heart of our agenda. During Mayor Herman Mashaba’s State of the City Address last week, he stated that a minimum of 60% of the City’s capital expenditure budget will be directed towards projects in traditionally poor and underserviced communities.

Preserving Community Safety

Whilst the City respects the right of residents’ to engage in protest, said protest action must be peaceful and lawful. The City is calling on residents not to take the law into their own hands or resort to violence.

“The protest have been violent and there have been reports of residents pelting stones at passing vehicles. One JMPD vehicle has been heavily damaged and a burnt truck was found on the side of the N12 east. JMPD officers are still investigating whether the cause of the truck fire is related to the protests. After taking control of the situation, JMPD officers have cleared and reopened the N12, however the Golden Highway is still unsafe and motorists are requested to avoid the area and use alternative routes,” said the MMC for Public Safety, Cllr Michael Sun.

MMC Sun further states that: “The Department of Safety is working on restoring peace and order to the area and are working closely with local councillors to address the issues.”

“JMPD officers will be patrolling the area to ensure that residents do not put themselves or their fellow community members at risk. Officers will also arrest anyone who behaves in a lawless manner,” continued MMC Sun.

Addressing Protesters’ housing concerns

As a new administration, we have inherited a housing backlog, estimated at 300 000 units with an average delivery of only 3500 housing units per year.  We realise this is not nearly enough to meet our residents’ needs. To this end, the City is making every effort to deliver adequate housing to the City’s residents.

MMC for Housing, Cllr Mzobanz Ntuli, said, “We realise that many of our residents have lost trust in the government, due to years of deep rooted corruption in the housing allocation process. Currently, we are forced to operate under the budget and plan of the previous administration until June 2017. For this reason we urge residents to bear with us.” 

“For too long, many of our residents have been forgotten on the fringes of our society and have been left without the dignity of a home and basic services. But we have not forgotten these residents. My department has finalised the City’s housing list. The list is being audited to ensure that it is beyond scrutiny.  In the next few months the list will be made public. Through this list, we will gradually begin addressing the City housing challenges,” said MMC Ntuli.

In terms of title deeds, MMC Ntuli had this to say: “The handover of title deeds is a top priority of this administration, especially given past administrations’ chronic failure to deliver on this. To date, we have handed out 2800 title deeds to beneficiaries and we have an additional 1100 title deeds ready to be handed over to our residents. In the next month, these title deeds will be distributed to beneficiaries from communities including Ivory Park, Pennyville, Lenasia and Rabie Ridge.”

With respect to the use of City owned vacant land for housing purposes, the Housing Department is developing a progressive focus on developing fully serviced plots of land onto which beneficiaries can be settled. These beneficiaries will be able to build their own homes on top of these serviced sites, allowing the City to also provide this housing solution to residents, over above RDP housing projects. This will be further elaborated on when we table our 2017/18 budget later this month.

Promoting Economic Development

Acknowledging the calls of protesters, the City can assure residents that economic development is a key focus area of the administration.

MMC for Economic Development, Cllr Sharon Peetz had this to say: “Small businesses create jobs. They have an abundance of potential waiting to be unlocked and they have the ability to expand into employers of our people. That is why small business development is one of the key focus areas of this administration. There are a total of seven SMME Hubs throughout the city, one in every region. The City’s plan is to double this to 14 Hubs by the end of the 2017/18 financial year. This will result in two SMME Hubs being located in each of Johannesburg’s seven regions, where young prospective entrepreneurs can receive support.”

Noting the years neglect suffered by residents in the area, the City is implementing a number of key projects towards developing  Region G. Last month, Mayor Mashaba launched a project to electrify over 1000 homes in Finetown North and Mertieng. In addition, the City is currently going through a procurement process for a R400 million housing project which will include 1600 units in Eldorado Park, Extension 7.

The inherent indignity residents of this region have endured for years must be addressed and we are committed to progressively restore our people’s dignity.

Issued by Luyanda Mfeka, Media Specialist: Office of the Executive Mayor, 8 May 2017