As the cost of living rose and many found themselves unable to pay rent in 2016, Elandsfontein informal settlement sprung up on Transnet land, right behind Sizwe Secondary School, in Elandsfontein.
Community leaders Yvonne Tswai and Peter Tshale said throughout the years of living in the informal settlement all their requests for service delivery have gone unanswered by the metro.
“We have no access to water, toilets, refuse and waste collection, and all drainage systems in the area are blocked,” said Yvonne.
“A water tanker would deliver water weekly, but that has since stopped and we don’t know why.
“We are a forgotten community.”
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The blocked drainage systems in the area cause flash floods in the community whenever there is rainfall, these floods have allegedly damaged stands and settlements in the area.
“We have tried to work together with our councillor, Tiziana Plaskitt, but nothing has been done regarding this issue,” said Yvonne.
Furthermore, Yvonne stated that Hattingh Road is in bad condition, also due to the drainage system, and community members, such as Philani Nkosi and Njabulo Ngcobo who run their brick-making business on the side of the road, are badly affected whenever it rains and cannot carry out daily operations when there are floods, this ultimately badly affects their revenue too.
“We want efficient service delivery,” she said.
According to Plaskitt, the land occupied by this community is privately owned and council has very little influence on the situation.
“Between 2016 and 2017 residents illegally occupied Transnet land,” said Tiziana
“The EMPD supplied Transnet with a report on how to protect their piece of land.
“Transnet failed to secure their land and residents invaded the land.
“I received a number of concerns that individuals were paying for stands and that there were illegal activities taking place. Unfortunately, I was unable to get sufficient evidence to prove these allegations.
“The last information I received was that the matter was allegedly in court.
“I submitted questions to Parliament regarding this situation.
“I have tried every avenue to assist those affected by the illegal land invasion and tried to contact the owners on several occasions, as well as engage with the occupants of the land to have the issue resolved.”
Plaskitt further claimed that in understanding that the area was a wetland, she tried to prevent the land invasion in its early stages, but was allegedly threatened by a group of people coordinating the invasion.
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“I have engaged with the metro’s roads and stormwater department to have the stormwater system unblocked so the water can drain out of the wetland, which I was advised is in progress.
“I have always had the best interests of all communities at heart and try to serve everyone to the best of my ability.
“I believe in the rule of law and as a municipal councillor I followed every avenue available to me to prevent this bad situation and to notify the correct officials and parties involved.”
According to Yvonne, the metro deployed technicians to the area recently to drain the overflow of water at Sizwe Secondary School, which has destroyed the school premises.
“The technicians drained the water, but did not unblock the drains, which means in the summer we will experience the same issue of flash floods,” she said.
The GCN contacted Transnet and the metro for comment, but none was forthcoming at the time of going to press.
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