Azania residents want temporary toilets from GMM
The land onto which this informal settlement is expanding was invaded several years ago.
The residents of Azania informal settlement in eMbalenhle want the Govan Mbeki Municipality to provide them with temporary toilets and maintain their internal roads.
They claim it is their constitutional right to get services from the municipality. The land onto which this informal settlement is expanding was invaded several years ago.
According to John Mahlangu, the Azanian Residents Party president and the proportional councillor, the residents wrote a letter to the municipality on April 17.
“I met with the MMC for Water and Sanitation, Doctor Mtshali, and the municipal manager, Elliot Maseko, who assured us our roads would be fixed this January.
“We have stayed here since 2016, and the constitution allows us to get what other residents around GMM have.
“Although we appreciate that our municipality is providing residents with temporary permits, we suspect something is off because some residents get services while others do not,” said Mahlangu.
“When we allocated residents the stands years ago, we gave everyone permits to assist them when they wanted to register their children at school or for social grants applications.
“Those permits helped a lot because all the institutions needed proof of residence before assisting the community members,” said Mahlangu.
He gave the municipality seven working days in which to respond to the letter. However, Andries Mtolo of the Azania informal settlement ward committee said the municipality never issued temporary permits to the residents.
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He said their area is informal and doesn’t have stand addresses.
“Residents approached the ward councillor at the time for assistance because they struggled to register their children at school or even report a crime without a stand number.”
Mtolo said their ward councillor at that time, Phillemon Vilakazi, came up with a temporary solution.
“We agreed that the ward councillor would provide temporary three-month proof of residence for emergency purposes only.”
Mtolo denied that the municipality had ever provided temporary permits.
“We also do not remember writing a letter to the municipality,” Mtolo said.
He does not know of any meeting where such decisions were taken.
“Although we do need services, we think this is a political game among certain individuals. John Mahlangu only told us the area was being proclaimed and is now formalised,” said Mtolo.
Executive Mayor Nhlakanipho Zuma said at last month’s council meeting that councillors quickly complain when certain areas don’t have water.
“The municipality has 43 informal settlements which contribute zero to the municipality, but the municipality has to provide them with water because it is compelled to do so by the Constitution.”
He said illegal land invasions contributed to water shortages in the municipality. Zuma also accused some councillors of being part of these illegal activities.
