The community of Reiger Park is up in arms over the City of Ekurhuleni’s plan to establish a squatter camp next to Reiger Park Secondary School to accommodate residents of the Cinderella hostel in Parkdene.
According to Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos, the metro is at pains to find alternative land to accommodate the over 150 families from the hostel, as their homes will be razed to the ground to pave way for the Leeuwpoort housing development.
“The municipality identified the council-owned vacant piece of land on Drommedaris Avenue next to the school, but the plan was met with immediate objection by the residents of the area,” said de Vos.
Angry residents expressed disapproval of the move during an April 8 meeting held with MMC for human settlements Clr Lesiba Mpya in the township.
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According to Ward 34 Clr Charles Crawford, he and residents objected to the plan as it is most likely to devalue their properties and increase the crime rate.
“To make matters worse, the metro didn’t even bother to hold a consultation meeting with the interested and affected parties, including me.
“When they recently came to show me the identified land for the hostel dwellers, I immediately rejected the plan and reported back to the residents who also expressed disagreement with this,” said Crawford.
Using the informal settlement built next to Delmore Gardens for people relocated from low-lying areas prone to flooding, residents said the MMC has a history of not honouring his promises.
“When the settlement was built, the MMC told residents the people would be moved to another area within a few months, but years have gone past and the informal settlement is still there.”
It’s still unclear as to what will be the metro’s next move concerning the relocation of the hostel dwellers.
De Vos questioned the metro’s delay in finding alternative accommodation, resulting in them rushing around trying to get everything done without following the required due process.
“Mpya knew years ago that the residential part of the hostel would be demolished to make way for the project.”
The metro has not yet commented on this matter.
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