City of Johannesburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda on Monday promised to improve service delivery to the Diepkloof Hostel in Soweto on Monday while speaking to the residents who have been rioting and blocking the roads for the past few weeks in protest for electricity, sanitation and houses.
After an inspection of the hostel, Gwamanda, accompanied by Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) Public Safety, Mgcini Tshwaku and Human Settlements, Anthea Leitch, confirmed that basic services didn’t exist at the hostel..
He promised to do away with the bucket system and replace it with proper sanitation.
“With the growing cases of disasters happening in the country, the structures are caving in. I have realised that even basic services they are entitled to are non-existent.
“It’s unfortunate that my visit comes as a result of demonstrations as that was the only process our people use to get things done. We are here to respond to their needs. We have engaged with the hostel leadership to agree on our first phase of our response and focus on their most important aspects of daily lived experiences.”
Gwamanda said the housing backlog and refurbishment of structures needs to be discussed with the provincial government.
“I don’t think the media is aware of the administrative backlog existing in the City. The City has been operating in silos. Had those inter-government relations been sustained, there would not be a need for any issues because they would have been attended to.”
Gwamanda also defended his actions for attending to the needs of the hostel residents late.
“The City has highly competent people, they would have responded to issues. I am the last line of response. I am here to acknowledge the plight of the people.
“The City has a budget it can channel towards not only here but the refurbishment of hostels. The budget allocated for the refurbishments of hostels is in the excess of R120 million. We must ensure that we put much pressure on the administration and reiterate the priority of our people being served in dignity.”
He set a 7 July deadline for the Department of Human Settlements in the City of Johannesburg to have a clear plan on how to deal with the issues raised by the hostel dwellers.
“For us to maximise service delivery approach to residents, we need the assistance from the national and provincial government. I am confident that by 7 July, our internal department of housing will demonstrate our commitment to our people,” said Kwamanda.
“Our commitment to residents will remain. We conduct oversight beyond the mayoral committee to ensure our bare minimum is achieved. We will ensure that whoever leads this government of unity adheres to the demand of the collective.”
