Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba meets Alex residents following house demolitions
ALEXANDRA – Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba met with residents after the Red Ants demolished houses in the area on 31 May.
Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has met with community members of Alexandra after houses in the area were demolished.
Many residents were left homeless on 31 May when the Red Ants and Johannesburg Metro Police demolished what they described as ‘illegal structures’.
Mashaba told the residents that he was unaware of the planned operation to demolish houses in Alex. “I learned about it on Friday night but I was out of the country.
“I was actually quite shocked by the images I saw on TV and I started making contact with City officials on what really happened. I made it clear that [with regards to] all the demolition in the City of Johannesburg, my office must be informed.”
The mayor told residents that the decision to demolish the houses did not come from him. “I always ask to be informed because politically I have to take full responsibility for what is happening. I was really disappointed that my office was not contacted about this.”
Mashaba apologised on behalf of the City of Johannesburg for what happened to their houses and promised that the City would make a plan for the affected families.
“The City must make a plan. I understand you are here illegally and the City removed you illegally, so two wrongs don’t make a right. The City also committed a crime by removing your structures. Government has the responsibility to rebuild your houses. I am asking the City to rebuild within the next days.”
He promised the residents that the MMC for Housing will send a team from housing emergency services to look at the structures so that within two weeks they can start building houses.
Related article:
City responds to illegal demolition of structures in Alexandra
