Ward 93 councillor Vino Reddy encourages and supports a petition launched by his party, the Democratic Alliance, aimed at addressing South Africa’s ongoing housing challenges.

The petition targets councillors who are dealing with land invasions in their wards. Reddy deals with about five informal settlements.

He believes that tackling housing issues could have a significant positive impact on residents’ lives. The petition calls on parliament to ‘fix a broken system, not punish people for being poor’.

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It highlights that homelessness is not the problem but a government failure. “For 30 years, the ANC has failed to deliver enough housing for indigent South Africans. Poorly built houses. A housing backlog affecting over 13m South Africans. More money spent, but fewer homes built,” the petition reads, adding that the result of this is millions living in informal settlements or on the streets.

Reddy points to past initiatives as proof that solutions can work. “We’ve seen how buildings in the CBD that were converted into housing are functioning well, and if more of that were done, it would really assist people.

“People don’t occupy land because they want to; they do it because of economic necessity. Job opportunities are often far from home, and the cost of transport makes living closer to work difficult. Communities need affordable, safe homes.”

The petition comes ahead of a parliamentary vote on February 18, which will decide whether a DA bill, designed to close loopholes in South Africa’s land and housing laws, will continue.

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According to the petition, the bill does not criminalise homelessness; rather, it targets criminal abuse of the system by criminalising the incitement of unlawful land occupation, giving courts better tools to assess eviction cases fairly, and ensuring alternative accommodation is realistic and time-bound.

Reddy emphasises that addressing the root causes of housing shortages, affordable housing, proximity to jobs, and proper land use can transform communities and improve the lives of residents in his ward.

We have reached out to the ANC’s spokesperson, Mahlengi Bhengu, for comment on the petition and the DA bill. An update will be provided as soon as the comment becomes available.

This is the link to the petition: https://petitions.da.org.za/p/stoplandinvasions

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