Project to improve Thulasizwe in the pipeline, says metro
The Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality has, in a Q&A format, responded to an inquiry about the fate of the community of Thulasizwe, a semi-rural settlement east of Kathorus.
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This follows an article which appeared in the April 10 edition of Kathorus MAIL. In the article, the community of Thulasizwe raised their fears of living under the threat of eviction from the only place many of them have known as their home. Most of the residents are second and third generation descendants of farm labourers of the original farm known as Tambokiesfontein in the late 1800s.
Some residents told Kathorus MAIL that they have been threatened with eviction by various Ekurhuleni municipality ward councillors ever since the farm was abandoned by its white owner in 1990. They claim the farmer instructed them to remain on the area where he had built them houses.
Since then, the community of Thulasizwe has grown in numbers and so has their need for the provision of communal services to sustain them.
Running water and sanitation remain the second biggest problems affecting the residents, after housing. The majority of the homes are old, many propped up with corrugated iron and plastic.
Caught up in this lack of new development, the community members doubt they will be relocated and resettled in RDP houses. Their hope, though, is to see the area developed with new houses and proper infrastructure to improve their lives.
The Q&A interview with metro follows.
What is the future of this informal settlement?
Metro: The community is earmarked to benefit from the Zwartkoppies Project which is still in its planning
stage.
MAIL: Is the metro planning to relocate these families?
Metro: The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE), in the short term, does not have immediate plans to relocate the community. However, there is a private project undertaken by Tambo Springs Development Company (TSDC), which is the current owner of the farm. The company has for the past seven years been working towards the development of Tambo Springs Inland Port. According to the company, the community of Thulasizwe will be directly impacted and affected by the project.
MAIL: How soon can they expect to be moved from where they are?
Metro: The movement of the community is being led by TSDC and they are currently engaging with the CoE with a view to getting the project integrated into the CoE’s housing development programme.
MAIL: If not, what is going to happen to the families living in the settlement?
Metro: The outcomes of the engagement between the CoE and TSDC will determine the way forward on the settlement of the community. In the meantime, the CoE is coordinating the provision of basic services in order to make the area habitable.