MEC hits Alexandra in her last Imbizo of the year

It is government's responsibility to be accountable to our citizens, however citizens too must co-operate with government, Gauteng Housing MEC Nomvula Mokonyane said during this year's last Provincial Imbizo held at Eastbank Hall in Alexandra, Johannesburg yesterday.

The Imbizo also coincided with the launch of two Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing development projects, K206 and 520 Far Eastbank Flats Project. And both form part of the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP).

ARP is part of the South African government's Integrated Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal Programme, which was announced by President Thabo Mbeki in his State of the Nation Address to Parliament on the 9 th February 2001.

The purpose of the ARP is to upgrade the living conditions and human development potential within Alexandra. It is for this reason that the recent Imbizo largely revolved around the ARP.

Addressing the residents who had packed the hall to the rafters, the MEC said the solution to housing is not only provision of houses but also ensuring ownership. Like many other areas, the problem of people occupying houses illegally is also rife in Alexandra.

This problem is often compounded by the fact that people rent out their RDP houses and then go back to live in informal settlements. To curb this MEC said they will be conducting occupational audits to verify if the people occupying the house are indeed the rightful owners.

If they are not the rightful owners, they will not be evicted but will be normalized as the new owners. This she added will normalize occupancy and not ownership.

Commending the residents of their high activism during the height of apartheid, Ms Mokonyane added that hence the Alexandra Renewal Project is a presidential project.

Though she hastily acknowledged the department's shortcomings regarding this project. The MEC explained that it is for this reason the department went back to the drawing board. "We then realized that housing and construction of access roads was a primary goal."

With the new housing development said the MEC they will ensure that they curb the mushrooming of shacks. This she said will be achieved through a new strategy of handing over houses at the site where they are being built so that they are able to demolish the shack of the intended beneficiary.

The MEC also announced 6000 properties will be transferred in Alex. As for the constructions of bridges to complete within record time residents who made illegal house extensions, should co-operate with constructors. Also she said they'll also improve the supply of electricity in Alex.