ZCommunity members and stakeholders in Zandspruit met with representatives from the Housing Department on February 22 at Emthonjeni Community Centre.
Tebogo Mangena, councillor for Ward 114 said the purpose of Tuesday’s meeting was to finalise projects around Zandspruit, particularly around housing. “We are here to get information out to the community and share information from the Department of Housing as we launch housing projects.”
Sello Mothotoana from the Department said these meetings were not crucial to getting ideas from stakeholders but to prepare meeting schedules. He said the formation of a project steering committee (PSC) was beneficial to community projects because it holds the government and contractors accountable. “The committee drives development and knows what the government is bringing. They handle the budget, time and cost of an entire project.”
He said government departments can give guidelines but the community has the final input on projects. Mothotoana also warned, “Just because you are in the PSC does not mean you can go around collecting money. Do not get involved in illegal transactions.” He encouraged residents to report to the Housing Department should they feel confused regarding certain projects or any misunderstandings.
“We want to see progress and development in Zandspruit. You can have different views as individuals but you need to speak in one united voice to drive development.”
