Tshwane metro must push its appointed engineers in designing and preparing land that will see dwellers of Cemetery and Plastic View informal settlements relocated from the fire-prone structures in the east of Pretoria.
So says acting Human Settlements MEC, Lebogang Maile.
This follows hundreds of shacks being engulfed by fire at Cemetery View informal settlement on September 21.
On September 23, Maile and Tshwane Human Settlements MMC Ofentse Madzebatela visited the informal settlement to assess the extent of the damage.
The aim of the visit was to outline the government’s interventions for those affected by the fire along Woodlake Street in Pretorius Park.
Maile said land had already been identified to see through the relocation of the residents.
“The municipality has just appointed engineers to deal with the designs and make sure the land is ready and habitable for the relocations.”
Maile said a timeline could not be committed to for relocation as the engineers had just been appointed.
“What we want to urge the municipality to do, is to move quickly and ask the engineers to work as fast as possible.”
Maile said that Gauteng was being besieged by informal settlements.
“They border on lawlessness in most cases, and we need to find a way of preventing people from occupying land.”
He said the government doesn’t have to wait until people occupy land illegally.
“It is not helpful. It demonstrates weakness on the part of the state.”
Speaking on the issues facing Tshwane to remove the occupants of the informal settlements, Madzebatela said the standing court order was not to remove the dwellers unless they can be accommodated elsewhere.
Madzebatela said the metro was working around the clock to establish the new township to relocate the dwellers.
“Now the Housing Act is clear: only South Africans can benefit from the house projects. This informal settlement has 90% illegal immigrants. The conundrum we have as a city is that we are working on a plan that can allow us in law to resettle foreigners and South Africans, but it’s a long-term plan.”
The metro has disclosed that the town planning approvals have been obtained to develop Pretorius Park Ext 40 for the resettlement of two Pretoria east informal settlements repeatedly afflicted by disastrous seasonal fires.
The fire at Cemetery View informal settlement left 2 600 people displaced. One person was reported dead, while a pregnant woman and a man were injured and rushed to hospital.
Fires have broken out multiple times at the roughly 18-year-old Plastic View and 11-year-old Cemetery View informal settlements, resulting in the inhabitants rebuilding on the land.
Ratepayers in the east have been fighting tooth and nail to get court orders to evict the informal settlement dwellers.
The metro appointed a multi-disciplinary team including a civil engineer and construction health and safety agent on June 12 for the design, a site development plan and architecture services.
Metro spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said the relocation of the dwellers is a viable solution for ensuring their safety and well-being, thus mitigating the risk of further fire-related disasters while striving to maintain cohesion within the broader community.
Mashigo said the city is in the process of establishing a mixed residential township known as Pretorius Park Ext 40, for resettlement of qualifying beneficiaries from both Plastic View and Cemetery View informal settlements.
This development is on a portion of the remainder of Portion 284 of the Farm Garsfontein 374-JR, measuring 6.4 hectares and is located on the east of the Woodlands Shopping Mall.
“The property is owned by the city. The site is located 900 metres away from both informal settlements,” Mashigo said.
He said all town planning approvals have been obtained.
“Pretorius Park will comprise a total of 863 housing units of which 300 will be fully government subsidised units and the remaining units will be for social housing rental stock.”
He said Cemetery View informal settlement has 866 households and Plastic View has over 900 households.
“A submission has also been made to the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements to provide grant funding for construction of the top structures in the current medium-term expenditure framework period and once infrastructure services have been installed.”
Mashigo said there is an existing court order, for which the metro’s main obligation is to identify land and relocate the squatters.
“While the city is currently developing Pretorius Park Ext 40 as a permanent resettlement area for qualifying households, many of the illegal occupants will not be accommodated due to their status in the country.”
He said the city has been pursuing engagements with the Department of Home Affairs in this regard to ensure the department executes its Constitutional mandate.
“With the previous fire that engulfed the Cemetery View informal settlement in September 2023, some community members in the neighbouring areas obtained a court order which clearly states that the Department of Home Affairs must conduct a verification [process] and deport those that are undocumented.”
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