Note to Editors: Please find an English soundbite by Cllr Daniel Schay here
In a city already plagued by unplanned developments, illegal construction, and unresponsive building control officials, the ANC/EFF/ActionSA/PA Coalition has blocked a Democratic Alliance (DA) -sponsored motion that would have introduced greater transparency and accountability in development planning processes.
The City of Johannesburg (CoJ) is once again undermining service delivery, this time by ensuring that load rotation and water shedding remain constant burdens on Joburg residents for years to come.
The DA’s motion proposed a feasibility study to make critical information accessible via the City’s existing Geographic Information System (GIS) without having to rely on unresponsive officials. Specifically, the motion sought to publish:
- The date of last approved building plans;
- The status of current plans or rezoning applications;
- Property compliance with zoning and land use regulations; and
- Whether the property is subject to any rates penalty
For years, bad-faith actors in Johannesburg have knowingly built structures illegally devaluing neighbouring properties, destroying servitudes, and placing additional strain on already struggling infrastructure. Residents who report these transgressions are met with silence.
Had our motion passed, residents could have easily checked if neighbours’ construction was legal and whether the City had taken action, thus reducing the time and frustration spent chasing indifferent departments.
Instead, the legislative legal department blocked the motion, citing a new “Integrated Spatial Data Portal (ISDP)” supposedly in development. They further claimed that the ISDP was discussed in the Development Planning Section 79 Oversight Committee. However, the DA would like to categorically state that the response to our motion was the first time we heard any substantive detail about the ISDP (apart from vague references to a ticketing system tied to email queries). Nothing received to date suggests that the ISDP will address the transparency objectives of our motion — making the City’s justification for blocking the motion unpersuasive.
We will formally write to the Section 79 Chairperson to request a full briefing presentation and an opportunity to make inputs into the ISDP’s goals.
The DA remains committed to pushing for transparency, rooting out unlawful buildings, and ensuring that Johannesburg’s infrastructure can support properly approved developments rather than collapsing under the weight of unchecked expansion.