‘Gauteng, City not working together’
‘These people have not set foot in Alex’
A ward councillor in Alexandra has disputed the claims of good service delivery made by the City of Johannesburg and Gauteng department of human settlements, saying they were misaligned.
Tefo Raphadu spoke to Sowetan on the sidelines of an inquiry looking into the socioeconomic conditions in the township and the role that was played by all spheres of government in the decay that Alexandra has experienced. Raphadu said there was a neglect of services in Alex.
“I think it is clear that the city and the province are not working together. Throughout the presentations, you can hear the misalignment – they were talking over each other around what has actually happened on the ground.
“What they were talking about it not true. They are living somewhere else and I am sure the people making these presentations have never set foot in Alexandra and that is the unfortunate part as they are speaking of something that they don’t know.”
The SA Human Rights Commission and the public protector are looking into issues of service delivery and lack of development in Alex. Yesterday, Gauteng department of human settlements deputy director-general Neville Chaney told the inquiry there were 14 housing developments implemented through the Alexandra Renewal Project. “The department had also implemented the conversion of the hostels … and this development comprises 660 units of which 406 were complete and the project is 70% complete to date, 254 units need to be completed. The department is in the process to secure the contractor to complete the project as the project is in the current business plan.” Chaney said the challenges were that the department has tapped into dilapidated and worn-out infrastructure and some of the newly constructed units were built on top of existing infrastructure. He said this was creating challenges for the city when there were burst pipes as the pipes were not accessible.
MEC Uhuru Moiloa said the issue of housing needs intervention from all spheres of government to find a lasting solution. “The country needs to budget for the reconstruction of Alexandra. We also need to look at the issue of the land question in Alexandra because we will not be able to properly develop Alexandra.”