Clay Oven informal settlement residents won’t move until Government gives them somewhere to go
The residents in Clay Oven informal settlement are asking the community to show a bit of empathy and compassion with what they are going through.
Growing up in the Clay Oven Informal Settlement, Sipho Msophi thought he knew his community in Ward 93, but reading reports in the latest issue of his community newspaper, the Fourways Review, of how they’re vandalising traffic lights and drug dealing, among other things, has left him shaken.
Now, Sipho is questioning when his neighborhood lost empathy and compassion, because this is not how they should be treated.
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He said he is aware that they live on invaded provincial land between Main and Witkoppen Roads in Paulshof, but they are not going to take the whole blame for the skyrocketing crime rate in the area.
“We are as affected by crime as the rest of the community. I do not understand how traffic lights that are not working, as far as Winnie Mandela, can be blamed on us. What we need is help to relocate, proper housing with access to education for our kids, electricity, water, and sanitation.”
Msophi, speaking on behalf of the Clay Oven community, vowed that residents will not leave until authorities fulfill their promise of relocating them to proper housing.
“Where are we supposed to go? We are here because we are unemployed and Fourways has opportunities for us. If we move, how are we going to feed our families and children?”
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Msophi believes that the community should rather focus on assisting them with major issues instead of solely blaming them for the crime rates, at least until the government does something for them.
“You know back then they’d come and make donations, some would go as far as giving us piece jobs, like gardening. We used to live in harmony. It is now so uncomfortable to live in Clay Oven.”
He said they got tired of keeping quiet after reading what the Gauteng Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson for Community Safety, Michael Sun, said about the informal settlements in Fourways being identified as a major crime hotspot.
“Criminals make a quick getaway and run back into these informal settlements on the roadside and it becomes almost impossible to track these criminals,” said Sun.
The Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, has vowed to eradicate informal settlements during his recent State of the Province address, according to Sun. However, he added, the reality on the ground told a different story, with little to no action taken to address the situation.
That is why the DA had submitted questions to Lesufi to ascertain what actions have been taken by the Department of Community Safety in response to the alleged criminal activities.
Sun said they are patiently waiting for the Premier’s response. He said they are also open to inviting the informal settlement residents to their public meetings so that they get to understand the frustrations from the Ward 93 residents, and also to hear their side of the story.
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