Brenda Mahuma, the Rand West City Local Municipality (RWCLM) Mayor, condemned the use of violence during the protest by residents of the Bundu Inn informal settlement on Monday, 24 February.

Two trucks were torched, and the intersection of the R28 and R559 near Mohlakeng was barricaded with objects such as rocks, burning tires and even cut-down trees.

Read initial article here:

R28 and R599 completely shut down by violent protesters – two trucks set alight

Mahuma said the protests came after a memorandum had been submitted on 13 February, in which residents demanded RDP houses in the area, electricity, proper streets and jobs.

In our response to the memorandum, we highlighted that the land where the settlement is located is privately owned. The municipality does not have the right to develop it,” Mahuma said.

However, Mahuma said the municipality has relocated 102 residents “… to Mohlakeng Extensions 3, 4, 7, 11 and 14. The challenge that the municipality is facing is that beneficiaries do not adhere to the agreement that when they are allocated a house, their shack should be demolished. Instead they rent out the shack to other people, therefore the informal settlements are not eradicated as planned,” Mahuma said.

Rand West City has five active Mega Human Settlements. The intention of the municipality is to allocate houses in one of those settlements to the remaining households in the informal settlement that qualify for a housing subsidy.

Mahuma added, “We have responded to the grievances of the community, and we are of the opinion that they understood the context of our responses and were appreciative to them.

“The municipality will urge the community to protest within the parameters of the law, and avoid a situation where ordinary community members are affected by a protest they are not party to.

“The municipality will not adopt a populist stance in addressing the needs of the community, but rather use logical systems of governance to address the issues,” Mahuma said.