Susan Boddington, a Struisbult CPF member, claims the entrance to Struisbult via Plover and Vogelstruisbult roads is a terrible sight.
“The council never cleans up the refuse and the wind just blows it everywhere,” she says.
The area is dark and the street lights are not being maintained as many of the lights are out of order.
Monitoring the encroachment of the shacks, Boddington says the structures are a mere 500m from the residential area.
She says, according to ward councillor Shadow Shabangu, the informal settlement will not spread any closer and no new people have moved in.
He claims the Ekurhuleni Metro spread the structures apart because trees were falling on some of them.
Boddington says the informal settlement residents have stated that new people are moving in all the time and stands are allegedly being sold illegally.
She claims residents have previously crossed the boundary and wonders how it will be managed.
“Any prospective buyer would not have peace of mind of the settlement extending to their front doorstep,” she says.
In an article in the July 30 edition of the Addie, ‘Temporary solution for informal residents’, Shabangu stated that “an informal settlement cannot devaluate a property”.
Boddington wants to know whether Shabangu can give residents a written assurance that their properties will not devaluate.
Some residents of Struisbult have lived in the area for over 25 years, but many are now selling as they don’t know what the future holds for them.
Others are unable or unwilling to leave as they just want to protect their life investments.
Shabangu says he represents the residents of the ward to the metro and not the metro to the residents.
“These concerns trouble me deeply and I have had numerous public meetings,” he says.
According to him, he frequently meets with the residents of the settlement and metro officials to ensure there are no new shacks constructed beyond the agreed boundary line.
The best solution is the provision of basic housing and the eradication of the informal settlement, which is something he claims he is fighting for.
“I will also continue to fight for the informal settlement residents to be given decent housing,” he concludes.
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