Pretoria - The victims of the 2019 floods in Mamelodi hope the new Tshwane coalition government will remain strong enough to enable MMC for Human Settlements Abel Tau to relocate them to a safer area.
Tau and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba visited this community several times during the campaign period and promised to bring change to the approximately 4 000 people who have been waiting to be relocated since the floods.
Community leader December Matlala yesterday told the Pretoria News that they were praying for Tau because he was their last hope.
“The instability in the Tshwane council has caused so many of these delays. Every time the collapse of council happened we were left frustrated. That is why we are praying that this time the metro could be strong until the end of term.
“The changes affect us the residents more than it does the politicians. That is why we are hoping that Tau sees through his term as he promised to prioritise this issue.
“We have even had Premier David Makhura here and every other politician, so this is really a serious matter. However, less than 700 families have been relocated since that time,” said Matlala.
Tau said this situation was indeed a high priority to him, and the department was already working on acquiring land to move the people whom he made promises to while he was still outside government. He said fortunately the City had also made promises to the people and moved 610 families.
“I have committed myself to unlocking and expediting processes. Once suitable land has been identified, we must ensure that we have the budget available so that we can acquire it in order for the identified informal settlements to be relocated.
“These include Alaska, Malema Village (Mavuso, Nellmapius), Eerste Fabrieke, Mamelodi Ext 18 Transit Camp 1 and 2, Lethabong, Phumzile Park, Nellmapius Ext 6 and 8, and others.
“The land acquisition process is highly complex. However, I would like to assure the affected residents that this matter is being prioritised by my department. Furthermore, I intend on reporting back to the community regularly to provide important updates,” said Tau.
He said the city had already successfully acquired land in Mooiplaats for this purpose. During the first phase, approximately 610 beneficiaries from Eerste Fabrieke who lived at the Mamelodi West Baptist Church and those who lived at Riverside at Stanza Bopape Community Hall were relocated.
This included some beneficiaries from Mavuso who lived at the Nellmapius Community Hall and some from Mamelodi Extension 11, Transit Camp 1 and 2, and K54.
He said phase 2B of the relocation was subject to finalisation of the processes to acquire suitable land parcels.
Pretoria News