This past Thursday, during a sitting of the Mayoral Committee, I instructed the City Manager, to begin an audit of persons living in the City’s social housing and RDP accommodation so as to ensure that only lawful occupants of properties are housed within them.
Since entering office, I have received repeated complaints that some of these properties are currently housing unlawful occupiers, including undocumented persons, who are not permitted to occupy those properties by law.
The audit of persons currently housed within these properties will provide a departure point for verifying the claims made and for taking any intervention to address any unlawful conduct.
In my view, JOSCHO’s provision of housing is one of the pivotal interventions for providing residents with the dignity of a roof over their heads with over 3000 units at their disposal. The same goes for the provision of RDP housing. This is why we cannot allow lawlessness to undermine our efforts to provide proper housing.
It is no secret that as a City, we face a housing crisis, one where approximately 300 000 units are required urgently if we are to make inroads against the housing backlog.
This coupled by an urban migration of 3000 people to Johannesburg monthly is an indication that urgent intervention is required to managing the pressures faced by the City.
Indeed, some residents have been on the housing list since the mid-nineties. This makes the investigation into the claims made by residents all the more pressing. More importantly, should the claims prove substantially true, we need to understand, not only how this happened, but hold those responsible to account.
This said, I have requested that the final report on this audit be provided to me by the end of October 2018.
Earlier this year, the City of Johannesburg launched Operation Buya Mthetho as a campaign to restore the rule of law in our city and to ensure we create safe communities for our residents. Operation Buya Mthetho has proven pivotal in fighting crime in the City.
Over 8000 arrests have been made by our law enforcement officials since January. This is the kind of momentum the City needs to sustain if we are indeed to fight against crime and lawlessness
On Tuesday, I also launched the 71 Buildings Inner City Prospectus that will turn Johannesburg into a construction site. These buildings are the conduit through which Johannesburg can live up to its reputation as Africa’s melting pot, where we expect at least 4000 units for student accommodation, small business premises and affordable accommodation for some of our poorest residents. This marks a new chapter not just for Johannesburg’s inner city, but other city development nodes such as Randburg and Roodepoort.
I assure residents that I will leave no stone unturned in ridding this city from criminal elements that leave our residents vulnerable. I am committed to serving our people within the budgetary constraints at our disposal.
Media queries:
Omogolo Taunyane
Office of the Executive Mayor: Media Specialist
Tel: 011 407 7527
Cell: 079 451 5211
Email: omogolot@joburg.org.za
