Over 1.2 million in need of houses due to more people moving to Gauteng

Residents across Gauteng have expressed disappointment and concern around the huge housing backlog, with many still on the waiting list to receive houses after registering with the department of housing in 1996.

According to Esther Modikwane from the densely populated Setswetla informal settlement east of Alexandra, the conditions they were living in on the banks of the Jukskei River were unbearable. But many residents in the area have lost all hope of ever receiving houses.

Modikwane detailed how many people around the area have lost their lives and belongings as water levels rise after heavy downpours in Gauteng. She also said hundreds of families have to move temporarily whenever the Jukskei River floods.

“I don’t know how many people have been rescued after they have been trapped in the Jukskei River because of heavy downpours and floods. Some have even died,” she said.

“We do not live here because we want to, but because many of us do not have houses. I have been waiting since 1996 for my house and I’m still waiting and I’m sure I’ll die waiting.”

There are currently close to 480 000 people on the waiting list for houses in the City of Joburg as Gauteng struggles to reduce the housing backlog. The backlog is at just over 1.2 million, due to more people relocating to the province for better economic opportunities.

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Soweto community leader Tumelo Makhubela said this was the perfect time for the government to provide low-cost, or Reconstruction and Development Programme, houses for the homeless and the less fortunate.

He said the backlog has also been a contributing factor to the high number of people living in informal settlements such as Chicken Farm, Goudkopies Landfill informal settlement, Maseru and Bakgomana Primary School in Diepkloof Zone 4.

The department classified the housing crisis as both a historical and systematic challenge that could not be resolved timeously. This had created issues such as accumulation of accruals, illegal occupations and abandoned housing projects, mainly due to management failures.

Meanwhile, Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng shadow MEC for human settlements and cooperative governance and traditional affairs Mervyn Cirota said it was extremely concerning as the department has spent over R1 billion for more than 1 956 housing units which were still incomplete.

“Only 340 incomplete houses will be completed in the 2022-23 financial year as well as the technical assessment of 1 114 houses to determine the amount of work that needs to be done and the timelines for completion,” Cirota said.

“This information was revealed by Gauteng MEC for human settlements Lebogang Maile in a written reply to my questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.”

Cirota also said that, according to Maile, the department has spent more than R1 billion of the R16 450 401 283.7 initial budget for these housing projects. Some of these projects have used up their initial budget and some have underspent or spent nothing at all on the projects.

“The DA demands that MEC Maile get his ducks in a row and prioritise completing these unfinished housing projects. Some of the people who have been on the housing waiting list have passed away and left their children struggling without dignified housing,” Cirota added.

– reitumetsem@citizen.co.za