Rampant growth of informal settlements affects livelihoods of Muldersdrift ratepayers
Failure by the project to see the light of day gave birth to two infamous informal settlements, Taxi-house and Riverside (adjacent to Cradlestone Mall), which have become a problem over the years due to their rampant growth.
To become the next Sandton of Johannesburg is an idea Muldersdrift could soon kiss goodbye due to the ever-expanding illegal informal settlements in this picturesque area.
The uncontrollable growth in the number of informal dwellings along and adjacent to Hendrik Potgieter Road – approaching Cradlestone Mall – has been a growing concern. It is blamed on the lack of by-law enforcement and action by private property owners.
One property owner that has caused more frustrations than load-shedding is the Gauteng Department of Transport (Gautrans), according to Jean Kotze, Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor for Ward 28.
Kotze accuses Gautrans of failing to take responsibility for a huge property belonging to it, which was said to have been earmarked for developing a road network more than a decade ago.
Failure by the project to see the light of day gave birth to two infamous informal settlements, Taxi-house and Riverside (adjacent to Cradlestone Mall), which have become a problem over the years due to their rampant growth. The majority of the occupants are said to be foreign nationals.
“The fact of the matter is that the highway was not built and now we are dealing with a situation where no services are provided to the people living there,” Kotze explained. He said the informal settlements have no ablutions facilities, proper running water and electricity.
He alluded that basic services are illegally obtained, which places a burden on the infrastructure.
“They receive very little water. They tapped into a pipeline which belongs to Mogale City Local Municipality to gain access to water, of which the supply could run dry. Electricity is illegally connected and this has resulted in the death of two children some years ago,” Kotze detailed.
Apart from Gautrans allegedly turning a blind eye to the problem following numerous engagements by Kotze, he said the lack of by-law enforcement by Mogale City was another serious problem.
“Mogale City should be at least enforcing by-laws, but that’s not happening,” he said. He added that they haven’t dealt with the health risk posed by the sewage leaking into the stream that feeds the Crocodile River, which flows all the way to Hartbeespoort Dam.
The Mogale City’s Human Settlement Division responded to the claims, explaining their position. “The area in which the illegal informal settlement is situated falls under the jurisdiction of Mogale City Local Municipality. Its Informal Settlement Unit conducts regular site inspections at all informal settlements, especially on municipal-owned properties; however, for settlements on privately owned properties we rely on property owners to monitor their own land since we do not have power of attorney over those properties,” the statement read.
Since very little action has been taken to improve the situation, Kotze said criminal activity has taken its toll in the area. This was attested to by a number of residents close to the settlements who claimed to have been targeted a number of times since the influx of people started.
Kotze, who wants the relevant entities to own up, said if the situation goes uncurbed, property values will be compromised.
“We can’t have this situation going on for another 10 years because everything will be lost. Property values are going down already and investors are looking for other areas to develop; they don’t want to invest their money here because of all the problems,” he lamented.
He also stressed that once the highway project has been approved to commence, Gautrans will have difficulty to remove and relocate the families on their land.
Gautrans has been approached for comment; however, numerous attempts to get a response from the entity’s spokesperson were unsuccessful.
This is a developing story.
