Harry Gwala residents still waiting to enjoy the fruits of democracy
The community leaders said government failed to carry out its end of the contract it had with the people to deliver services.
“Our hopes and dreams of living in dignified houses have been shattered.”
This is the view residents of Harry Gwala informal settlement and surrounding areas shared with the Benoni City Times about how their lives have not changed despite 30 years of democracy.
Community leaders said residents had high hopes that by now, the housing project in Wattville, which began six years ago, would be complete. However, the project remains at a standstill.
Also Read: Harry Gwala housing project launched in Wattville
The housing project was launched on June 30, 2018, by the former MMC for Human Settlements in Ekurhuleni, Lesiba Mpya, and the estimated projected cost of the four-storey development was R260m.
Over the years, the project has invited criminals to run amok at the site and take full advantage of the easy pickings of door frames and other structural materials.
In February, an 11-year-old boy drowned after falling into a flooded excavation trench at the incomplete housing site.
The City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said this incident could have been avoided if the fencing had not been stolen.
“This is quite sad because today we have lost a life,” he said at the time.
He acknowledged the project has been delayed for some time, but added the new estimated completion of this project is the 2024/25 financial year.
The community leaders expressed disappointment at what was meant to be an 18-month development dragged on for six years.
“Our government failed to carry out its end of the contract with the people to deliver services. Families were moved from the site to make way for the housing development with promises that they would move into proper homes.
“However, residents still live in a dire situation without proper sanitation facilities, electricity or security. They are living in leaking shacks that get flooded when it rains.”
Constitutional case
Johnson Matotoba Nokotyana and residents of Harry Gwala informal settlement approached the High Court in Johannesburg a few years ago to mandate the municipality to install communal taps, provide temporary sanitation facilities, remove refuse and install high-mast lighting in hotspots.
According to a report published by the Parliamentary Monitoring Group, the Constitutional Court handed down its judgment on November 19, 2009, dismissing the appeal by the residents.
The applicants argued in the High Court that the municipality was obliged, in terms of its statutory obligations, to provide the settlement with the demanded basic services.
The appeal was dismissed on the basis that chapters 12 and 13 of the National Housing Code did not apply to the situation of the residents as these chapters specifically deal with emergency situations and upgraded townships.
The court considered the view that for the municipality to provide interim services as demanded by the Harry Gwala informal settlement residents, would amount to discrimination against many other similarly situated communities under its jurisdiction.
The court stated the providing of interim services could only be done on the basis that the circumstances of the Harry Gwala informal settlement residents were exceptional and unique.
Also Read: UPDATE: Relocation of Harry Gwala residents has begun
