The Democratic Alliance (DA) has relentlessly fought on behalf of residents living in informal settlements across Johannesburg. There has been a prolonged failure to formalise and provide basic services to Tjovitjo Settlement. This is despite there being available funding and legal frameworks in place to protect the dignity of the residents. This is now spilling over into political instability and jeopardising democratic rights.
Through Council sittings, Section 79 Committee engagements, motions, and written questions, the DA has repeatedly held the Government of Local Unity administration accountable for its failure to formalise informal settlements and provide basic services. These are not political demands; they are constitutional rights.
The DA has championed this issue through the Section 79 Human Settlements Committee, where we have persistently raised the department’s non-achievement of key performance indicators relating to the provision of water, sanitation, and electricity.
At a local level, the DA has been on the ground standing up for the people of Tjovitjo. We have consistently raised the water supply crisis, engaged residents directly, and in July last year submitted a Motion on the Formalisation of Informal Settlements to Council. Despite the urgency of the matter, the GLU administration ruled the motion inadmissible on procedural grounds, citing Rule 92(3), while the lived reality of residents remained unchanged.
Targets are continually being missed due to chronic government inaction.
It is against this background that tensions in Tjovitjo have escalated. An organisation known as the DTT Development Task Team has threatened that if the area is not formalised by June, political parties will be barred from campaigning from 1 July, and that by November, IEC activities and voting will not be allowed if demands are not met.
The DA strongly condemns these threats. Democracy cannot be held hostage.
The DA calls on the Department of Human Settlements to urgently and transparently use funds that have been made available for informal settlement upgrading in order to address the needs of Tjovitjo and to ensure access to water, sanitation, electricity, tenure security, and eventual formalisation.
When the DA is in administration, we would strive to fast-track UISP funding, set clear and public timelines for formalisation, deliver basic services immediately, and put people, not processes, at the centre of governance.