Mkhonto laments sluggish by-law enforcement

A councillor in Alexandra decried the ongoing haphazard and informal housing developments taking place in the township.

Shadrack Mkhonto attributed this to ‘cold feet’ on the part of those entrusted with enforcing the City’s by-laws. “The matter is raised continuously with the By-Law Management Unit within the Joburg Metro Police Department who say they only act on instructions from authorities,” Mkhonto said.

He added that the delay in issuing such instructions made it difficult to pull down the illegal structures as the law required it should be done within 24 hours after which a court order would be required to do so and the City would bear the cost of relocating the affected. “This has emboldened owners of illegal structures who no longer use corrugated sheeting but brick and mortar.”

Mkhonto alleged that these owners did so on the advice from some politicians who he blamed for encouraging the violation of by-laws. “They construct under electricity pylons and on pavements putting themselves at risk to lighting and vehicles. Council will be condemned if anything happens and was forced to relocate them.”

He said, as a result, inner Alex no longer had any space and pavements, and residents added rooms above their structures without approved plans. “More illegal structures are now flooding surrounding housing extensions adding a burden to water, sewage piping and electricity supplies which many of them do not pay for and are subsidised by other consumers.”

He pointed to Setwetla, initially a temporary settlement of corrugated sheeting shacks which had turned into ‘permanent’ homes with some structures developed into two-storey buildings which almost touch electricity pylons and are within the flood line.

Despite these challenges, Mkhonto said the renovations to Madala and Helen Joseph hostels were in the pipeline in this financial year with R20 million allocated to each of them.

Other developments, he said, were the ongoing negotiations with Wits University on the R800 million it wanted for Frankenwald land targetted by the government for a mixed housing development of RDP homes, residential flats, bond houses and residences for the university’s students. He urged for unity among political parties in the allocation of the different housing options in the interest of social cohesion and all intended beneficiaries.

Mkhonto said concerns of residents of the surrounding suburbs on the threats to values of their homes were being considered in the overall planning process. “The matter is now pending council deliberation after a presentation was made to Region E councillors,” Mkhonto said.