The member of the mayoral committee for housing, Councillor Mlungisi Mabaso, will in the next few weeks visit various informal settlements.
The visits will be part of assessing service delivery programmes in high density informal settlements identified as urgent problem areas.
In addition, the visits will serve to identify informal settlements that need to be upgraded.
“Over the next few weeks, I will be assessing the progress of service delivery in the area as we have also identified the high density of both informal settlements. This is to ensure that our team moves with speed and to close service delivery gaps.”
“It must be noted that this is an interim phase of the formalisation of informal settlements. In the next few years, we will establish a formal township in the area which will improve their livelihoods. In the next few weeks, I will also be visiting other informal settlements that we have identified for the upgrading of informal settlements,” said Councillor Mabaso.
Councillor Mabaso made these pronouncements following oversight visits to the Rugby Clubs and Matholesville Informal Settlements on March 10, as part of housing department’s key performance indicators.
Key stakeholders gave Councillor Mabaso and his team of officials a comprehensive brief regarding the formalisation of the informal settlements.
Said Councillor Mabaso: “Notwithstanding some challenges that are faced by both informal settlements, I am pleased that our officials are on track to ensure that basic services such as water, sewer and electricity, are installed when the formalisation commences in the next few weeks.
“Other challenges that both informal settlements are faced with are unhealthy living conditions, filth, overcrowding, illegal mining and refuse collection challenges, among others.”
He explained that all stakeholders assured him that they would attend to issues raised before the end of financial year. In addition, officials committed to carrying out the City’s mandate with due diligence.
“A social survey has been done, which would help the team develop a layout plan that is inclusive of community members that are residing within the informal settlements. As the Government of Local Unity, we urge our residents to be patient as we proceed with service delivery to accommodate as many residents as possible to provide an interim relief in a form of basic services and to redress the sanitation backlog in informal settlements, among other issues,” said Councillor Mabaso.
