Poor planning, corruption and illegal invasions have left the residents of Obed Nkosi RDP houses, Shalimar Ridge and Rensburg flats in Lesedi Local Municipality without much-needed service delivery.
Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted an oversight inspection in all three Urban Renewal Projects.
Despite the municipality not having the necessary plans to upgrade the bulk service systems such as water and electricity, more than 60 000 residents have occupied these RDP houses and flats.
Currently, the bulk infrastructure system cannot handle the pressure because it has not been upgraded, resulting in sewer blockages, electricity cuts and houses being flooded during the rainy season due to no drainage systems in place.
We further engaged with the residents of Shalimar Ridge flats, who have now accumulated a utility bill of over R42 million due to non-payment of services. In addition, most of the residents in Shalimar Ridge flats have illegally invaded these flats.
Efforts by the DA to solve the illegal invasion issue in these Urban Renewal Projects have yielded no results despite the municipality and the Department of Human Settlement being made aware of the matter.
Furthermore, we have been reliably informed that government officials have also occupied the Rensburg flats, yet they do not qualify and are not the rightful beneficiaries.
It appears a key reason why the issue of illegal invasions in these Urban Renewal Projects is not being investigated is that government officials are involved.
The DA demands that the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, must institute an urgent forensic audit of all the Urban Renewal Projects across the province to ensure that they have access to bulk infrastructure such as water, electricity and sanitation.
The MEC must also determine whether the people who have occupied these houses are the rightful beneficiaries.
Should it be found that they have been illegally invaded, proper processes must be followed to evict the illegal occupants and allow the rightful beneficiaries to occupy these houses.
The DA will further table questions in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to ascertain the department’s plans concerning the Urban Renewal Projects in Lesedi and will provide feedback to the residents.
The people of Lesedi Municipality deserve better living conditions and development where they can access adequate service delivery.