And, according to Ekurhuleni Mayor Mondli Gungubele, these high numbers make Ekurhuleni one of the cities with the largest number of informal settlements in the country.
He was speaking at the Sustainable Human Settlements summit, at the Lakes Hotel, in Lakefield, on Thursday, September 18.
The summit was held to find solutions to the human settlement issue within Ekurhuleni.
Gungubele acknowledged the issues regarding the delivery of housing and land to people living in backyards and informal settlements.
He said the issue of housing has become a painful one, that borders on lack of trust amongst people.
Gungubele mentioned the Daveyton protest as one of the main reasons for the summit.
“We have recently had service delivery protests in Daveyton, which illustrated the need to ensure that as government we strike a balance between various community interests, needs and aspirations,” he said.
He also mentioned the successes that have been made in the past 10 years.
“We have allocated 2 000 houses for people on waiting lists, while we have provided almost 97 000 residents living in informal settlements with access to housing opportunities,” he added.
“The issue of backyard dwellers has always been an issue and has not been bought by Daveyton protesters,” said Gungubele.
He stated that policies have always been in place to deal with human settlement issues within Ekurhuleni.
Gungubele promised that once a plan has been agreed upon within the summit, it will be shared with society.
“This we plan to do through regular engagements and consultations with stakeholders, a process we plan to roll out every fourth night.”
The metro is currently growing at a rate of between three and four per cent every year, according to the mayor.
He added that the metro is embarking on a new approach, that will enable the city to deliver services faster.
“A cycle of virtuous sustainable development is dependent on active citizenry; citizens need to be given a strong platform to build capabilities and make meaningful contributions to society,” he said.
