City intends to remove some illegal structures in Greenville

City officials have announced plans to remove several illegally built homes in the informal settlement of Greenville, in Alexandra, citing serious concerns about encroachment.

Jack Sekwaila, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) for Environment and Infrastructure Services, explained that homes along London Road in Greenville have been constructed directly on top of the city’s water or power lines. “We might need to remove some of these structures here. So, that at least we set a tone in our township that this is not right,” Sekwaila shared, adding that Greenville residents must understand that the city’s intention is not to punish them.

He expressed concerns that the issue of encroachment will only worsen if not addressed. Additionally, he said that encroachment has led to water being poured onto the streets, especially near London Road, which then flows down the road and causes potholes.

Sekwaila noted that such behaviour undermines the city’s efforts to maintain roads and infrastructure. “Our officials are working hard to deal with potholes. They can’t, when there is an attitude like this,” he said.

@caxtonjoburgnorth MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services, Jack Sekwaila speaks about the removal of some illegally built homes in Greenville, Alexandra #alexandra #illegal ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

MMC for Development Planning, Eunice Mgcina, acknowledged the city’s budgetary constraints, but explained that there is a budget allocated to fix London Road. She further noted that fixing London Road would entail that they have to deal with encroachment. “From my side, as development planning, there are issues of encroachment, and the mayor has spoken about this a lot, that we have too much lawlessness. People do as they please; they don’t respect the by-laws of the city.”

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She emphasised that when it comes to the demolition of illegal structures, it is necessary that they also focus on Alexandra. “Even though the budget is not enough, we’ve identified Alexandra as one of the priority areas to come and demolish some of these structures,” she said. She also stressed that they will have to work with the housing department, because as soon as they demolish the structures, then housing must come on board and assist with relocating the residents. “The law protects our residents. So, we also need to observe the law. When we move people, we must put them in a safe space.”

While some residents oppose the removals, others are open to relocation—if it comes with proper housing. “If they relocate us to a place where they’ve built houses for us, we won’t have a problem. Our houses here are constantly getting damaged, and we don’t have services,” a resident, Lindiswa Ntamnani, said.

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