EKURHULENI’s informal settlements will soon be recognised as formal township settlements.
Furthermore, the metro would defend what they call a “public-interest position” in court if they needed to.
This revelation was made by Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina during his first State of the City Address in Germiston on Wednesday last week.
“We as a city are working to upgrade the spatial profile of the informal settlements that house about 164 000 households. We will give to the people all municipal land that was classified as ‘illegally occupied’ by people in informal settlements,” Masina explained to the crowd outside the council chambers.
The city would legalise the security of tenure of informal settlement households in order to ensure a certainty about the future, he said.
“We will expropriate on their behalf all private land that was not developed since 1994, and has since been occupied by our people to build informal settlements.”
Masina said the city would go as far as defending this public-interest position in court if there were any litigation against the metro.
“Vacant land that remains undeveloped over extended periods will be pursued for expropriation by the city in response to our challenge of landlessness. After legally transferring this land to the people, we will have the informal settlements recognised as formal township settlements,” the mayor assured the crowd.
Next, he added, the many informal settlements around the city would be given access to basic service delivery including the upgrading of their road infrastructure.
Gravel roads would be improved and tarred roads would be built as soon as financial capacity allowed for this, he continued.
People would also have access to refuse collection trucks, water services, road maintenance and engineering personnel, as well as ambulances and other emergency services. The city would continue, as well, to provide sanitation services to households as part of maintaining their dignity.
