Moves to go on, but for some it’s a mystery
Alex residents tell of their fears of a fair relocation deal
● Alexandra resident Malesa Maja heard through the grapevine that people in his community might be temporarily moved to “de-densify” his area in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
So he attended a sod-turning ceremony last Friday in nearby Marlboro Gardens to find out more. There Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo told the crowd that 1,600 families from two wards in Alex would be moved into temporary, serviced container homes.
But Maja left none the wiser, knowing only that “a group of people” will be moved in three months.
“I came back with more questions than answers. The mayor did not have answers when we asked him how long people will stay in that temporary place. He was not open about who will be relocated and how it will be done,” said Maja.
Other people in the community are also sceptical. Some worry that “favouritism” will dictate who moves. Others say they are tired of “temporary relocations” and want permanent homes.
Ward councillor Busisiwe Francisco admitted that the affected residents had not been officially informed, because it was a “work in progress” and “the city is still working out the plan”.
She said that in her ward she had communicated with only three families who had special needs. Two were elderly families and another family had a person with a disability.
“These are the families that will be prioritised when everything is finalised,” she said.
City of Joburg spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane said the city would be ready to move the first group of people around September.
He said the programme would run throughout the city and people in areas like Diepsloot, Zandspruit, Rabie Ridge and some parts of Soweto would also be moved. The areas have about 50,000 households.
On Tuesday, human settlements, water & sanitation minister Lindiwe Sisulu told the National Council of Provinces that her department had allocated more than R2bn to upgrade informal settlements.
This was being done in the hope that, through improved living conditions, the department would reduce the spread of Covid-19.
In May, Sisulu said that in the department’s quest to curb the spread of the pandemic, it would continue with a programme of “re-blocking” overcrowded informal settlements, which is in line with the department’s upgrading of informal settlements.
She said that where housing projects had been completed, the department had told provinces to accelerate allocating houses to qualifying beneficiaries.
Moving residents from nearby informal settlements to the completed housing units would ease congestion in those settlements she added.
Modingoane said people who were moved from Rabie Ridge (Midrand) and Zandspruit (Cosmo City) would stay in prefab houses. He said those moved to Marlboro Gardens and Madala sports field in Soweto would be housed in converted containers.
In Lufhereng, west of Soweto, people would be moved into RDP houses.
Modingoane said the moves would be based on qualifying criteria according to the housing code.
This meant people should be legally in SA, over the age of 18 and on the house waiting list.
Liaquad Ebrahim, a councillor whose ward is highly densified, said the housing department’s database would determine who moved first.
He said people staying in Stjwetla in
Alexandra would be moved.
Mami Mooki from Stjwetla said she feared that the unclear communication would lead to favouritism.
“If they were clear with us on the criteria they are using to move people, it would eliminate a lot of things,” she said. “Right now we don’t know who and how we would be moved.”
Community leader Kgabo Raphala said people were not happy with the moves because they already had three temporary sites in Alexandra. “We are tired of temporary relocations,” he said.
He said people who were moved to temporary sites almost 10 years ago were still there.
“We are scared that this will also happen with these 1,600 people they are talking about. The land they are moving people to is big enough to build flats. This is the proposal we put to the city.
“Those containers are also expensive; they should be using the money for something permanent,” he said.
Raphala said people had expressed their dissatisfaction with the city.
But the member of the mayoral committee for housing, Mlungisi Mabaso, said most people were happy with being moved because they would have decent accommodation.
“The containers they will be staying in are far better than the conditions some of them are living under at the moment.”
Mabaso said the sites people would be moved to had full services, including electricity, water and sanitation.
Alex resident Kgabo Raphala We are tired of temporary relocations