Gauteng chairperson for the commission Buang Jones said he commends the steps taken by the leadership of the community in addressing issues peacefully and not resorting to violence. This follows after ANC Ward 133 residents embarked on a march in August last year and delivered a memorandum of grievances to the local City of Johannesburg offices located at Lord Khanyile Hall in Ivory Park.

The grievances were related to the formalisation of the Goniwe, Alfred Nzo, Khutsong, Joe Slovo, Steve Biko, John Dube, Sisonke and other nearby informal settlements. Goniwe was established in 1994, but has not yet been proclaimed as residential.
Furthermore, residents demanded the electrification of some settlements, issuing of title deeds, housing verification, addition of fire trucks and ambulances and the reversal of the budget for the Erf 1345/1075 housing project. The group of marchers also handed over the memorandum to Eskom.

The commission visited the area on 2 May for a site inspection.
“We visited the area to verify the claims and observe the conditions. We discovered that some areas were not electrified. Some people were living in squalor and sewage was spilling onto the streets. There was also a lack of ablution facilities in some areas,” said Jones.
Jones revealed that the commission had written letters to the office of City mayor Herman Mashaba and the provincial Department of Human Settlements on 20 May. They were given seven days to respond. At the time of publication, a response had not yet been given. March convener and Ward 133 ANC chairperson Teboho Marumo said, “We appreciate the commission’s response on the matter and we hope that they will assist the community going forward in terms of receiving much-needed basic services. Some of the problems we are experiencing today are historical. Our aim is to address this matter in as peaceful a manner as possible and to exhaust all avenues before we take the next action, which would be marching to the president of the country.”
Marumo said although it was taking a while to receive feedback on other issues, Eskom had allegedly considered electrification of Gonie, Steve Biko and Joe Slovo informal settlements.

Source: Midrand Reporter