Housing Protest - Mokonyane Assures People Of Gauteng That Housing Delivery Is On Track

15 July 2007

The Gauteng MEC for Housing, Ms Nomvula Mokonyane assure residents of this province that processes to assist communities with housing related issues are well underway and all efforts and resources are being committed to realize that objective.

The MEC’s assurance comes after incidents of mass protests and vandalisation of private and public property as well as disruption of services including serious acts of violence. What is of concern is that these riots are taking place amidst ongoing efforts by both the province and the local authorities to improve the lives of the people across the province.

“It is rather surprising that despite development taking place, people would resort to acts of violence and disruption. It is clear that there are elements bend to undermine the work government is doing to change the lives of the poor. We will however not allow anyone to frustrate our efforts to uplift the standard of our people”, said Mokonyane.

While communities have a right to engage in protests to express their dissatisfaction, this has to be done in a lawful manner and without in fringing on other peoples rights. Those who are engage in criminal activity will be dealt with according to the law.

Mokonyane further said, “the recent protests that erupted in the province have underlying circumstances and there’s no doubt that some disgruntled political individual and groups are using ordinary citizens for their own political benefit and advancing their own agenda through the use of mass protests. One of the critical observations made is that there’s not enough communication and dialogue between government structures and local people in order to share information on plans to improve and fast track service delivery. Our efforts therefore will be dedicated towards improving communication as well as consultation with all stakeholders at local level”.

Government has made a commitment that we will embark upon a process of upgrading informal settlements by 2009 and eradicate informal settlements by 2014. Our programme will therefore focus in those informal settlements that are situated on safe, habitable and appropriately designated land that can be used for housing development. Formalisation of informal settlements which can be formalised (basic services and infrastructure) by 2009.
The Gauteng Department of Housing in conjunction with various local authorities is committed to ensuring that families registered onto the 1996/1997 Housing Waiting List are expeditiously allocated sites and houses in housing developments. The Department therefore wishes to appeal to people that have applied between the years 1996-1998 to always contact the Department in order to get latest information on housing delivery programme and status of their individual applications.

In line with the Constitution of this country, the Gauteng Department of Housing in highly committed to ensure that citizens who qualify for shelter are assisted to the best ability. To demonstrate our commitment, the department is on track to deliver 58 552 houses in this current financial year that this will result in 297 760 people having access to shelter through various housing delivery programmes.

The Department of Housing will be hosting a provincial housing summit on 24-25 July 2007 where different stakeholders will discuss housing related matters. The summit will also create a platform for discussions on the latest plans in housing development and to draw lessons (both positive and negative) from previous strategies applied in Gauteng.

The Gauteng Department of Housing is highly committed to work with people of Gauteng to find solutions to the problems of housing and we are working tirelessly to speed up delivery and ensure that we reduce housing backlog in our province.

The MEC urges Gauteng residents and stakeholders to work closely with her department and government to help accelerate housing delivery in the province.

The assurance that we give our people is that if delivery has not happen in your area it will soon happen as it did in other areas where people waited patiently. We are also coming to your community. What we humbly ask for from our people is cooperation and understanding as we strive to deliver on our mandate. Above all, it is also the responsibility of the law-abiding citizens to protect and preserve the assets provided by the state.