Note to editors: Please find attached English soundbite by Mervyn Cirota MPL.
Mohlakeng Hostel residents remain trapped in deplorable living conditions unfit for human habitation, with no basic services and infrastructure, including a lack of proper sanitation, functioning toilets and refuse collection. Worse still, there is no relief in sight, as Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Tasneem Motara has shifted responsibility for this crisis to the West Rand District Municipality.
Responding to an oral question in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) on the shocking conditions at Mohlakeng Hostel, MEC Motara firmly denied that her department carries any responsibility for the facility, stating that no budget has ever been allocated or committed to its refurbishment. She further indicated that responsibility for upgrading the hostel or relocating residents lies squarely with the municipality.
Instead of providing an update on the 2022 commitment by former Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Lebohang Maile to rebuild this and other hostels in the West Rand to restore the dignity of residents, MEC Motara has chosen to deflect accountability and shift blame. As a result, residents are left without answers or hope.
Yet, the MEC and Premier Panyaza Lesufi are quick to gloat about upgrades in the so-called six Gauteng Provincial Government-owned hostels. During the 2023 State of the Province Address, Premier Lesufi stated that “all six hostels under our care have been installed with free Wi-Fi and data.” He further reported that “all six hostels will have CCTV cameras to help manage crime, as well as 24-hour patrols to ensure that our hostels are safe.”
It is unacceptable that this government is pampering a select few out of the 65 hostels in the province, leaving others to deteriorate in neglect and decay. It is also irresponsible of the provincial government to leave the upgrading of hostels to local municipalities, given their track record of failing to deliver housing projects on their own.
The DA calls on Premier Lesufi and MEC Motara to stop trivialising the hostel issue and implement the Hostel Redevelopment Programme, which does not discriminate but seeks to transform all hostels into decent, family-oriented housing.
The DA is the only party committed to transforming hostels from neglected infrastructure into safe, dignified, and family-oriented housing. A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government will implement the Hostel Redevelopment Programme to upgrade and rebuild hostels into decent homes with proper basic services and infrastructure for the benefit of all who reside in them.