Plot 80: Gautrans’ rosy picture deflects from concerns
Residents association remains critical of project.
When Ernest Mashaba of the Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport (GPDRT) was initially asked for clarification on certain issues pertaining to the K72 interchange and infamous Plot 80, his provided a one-line answer.
But on July 16 he did send the News a more elaborate yet still unsatisfactory answer.
In his email, he wrote “It is with great sadness that this project is being misrepresented by yourself, at the expense of people’s lives and livelihoods. This mega project aims to:
• Alleviate years of fatal accidents
• Improve traffic movement by reducing peak hour congestions
• Eliminate crime related to the informal settlement like house robbery, cable theft, children being electrocuted, etc
• Revitalises the economy of Mogale City by attracting back investors,
• Create thousands of jobs through construction, commercial, schooling, and residential development”
He ended on a slightly bitter note.
“Portion 80 does not need an environmental impact assessment (EIA), it’s exempted since it’s less than five hectares. The K72 road reserve on the Cradlestone Mall needs an EIA ready by 2023. I am sure you know this but you chose to twist the story.”
A member of the Nooitgedact South and Heritage Drive Residents Association (NSHDRA), who is the most organised representative organ of unhappy affected and interested parties, criticised the content of Mashaba’s email cum public relations exercise.
On condition of anonymity, the concerned neighbour to Plot 80 wrote:
• Their own presentation (GPDRT’s presentation to the court in their bid to have the squatters moved to Plot 80 in Muldersdrift) notes an area of larger than 5ha, the property itself is larger than 5ha, and it looks like the settlement is sprawling.
• How does moving a criminal from one place to another affect the reduction in crime? All it does is shift the problem.
• Why is the road EIA only required by 2023, when they have already started with civil work?
• The building of the road actually has nothing to do with the Plot 80 problem they have created.
Also read: Plot 80: Security expert paints dark picture
Also read: Plot 80: EIA for interchange more than a decade old
Also read: Plot 80: Affected parties rubbish City and GDRT claims
Also read: Plot 80: A circus without clowns
