Eldorado Park residents are not convinced by Gauteng Premier David Makhura’s promise to allocate land to them, citing it as a tactic to stop the violent protests in the area.
During visits to Eldorado Park and Freedom Park last week, Makhura pledged to engage with the mayors to accelerate the “process of rapid land release” and development in these areas.
But five days after Makhura’s visit, Vecearro Mohamed from Eldorado Park, which is mostly occupied by coloured people, accused the government of bias, saying there had been no development in the area since Freedom Park came into existence.
“People in Freedom Park get everything they want. There are RDP houses and they are building a university campus in that area. Only blacks benefit from the current government, so how are we supposed to believe the premier.”
Another resident said Makhura’s promise was meaningless to them because they had received empty promises before.
“I don’t think what he said will happen. He was just here to get votes and to stop us protesting. They have been promising us houses, but nothing has happened. We no longer believe in this government,” she said.
A 73-year-old woman accused the government of ignoring Eldorado Park.
“They (government) are racist. They only develop the black areas. They do nothing for coloureds and white people.
“Every time a coloured or white person applies for a house they tell them to find a job, but everything is free for blacks.
“I don’t understand why they are doing this to Eldorado Park residents while they develop Freedom Park which is full of foreigners,” she said.
Human Settlements Department spokesperson Keith Khoza said the government had identified land for development outside Eldorado Park.
“The pieces of land we found in the area are not observant to the nature of the development we need to do.
“So this project will happen next door and we will have to move people to where there’s development, ‘said Khoza.
Freedom Park residents took to the streets again to protest against power outages. Saying they had been without electricity since Monday, they barricaded roads with rocks and rubbish.
Resident Lungile Xaba said life was difficult without electricity.
“We have no money to buy paraffin and so we asked our neighbours to use their stove to cook.
“Makhura visited this area, but he just makes no sense. We wouldn’t be without electricity if he was serious about developing this area. I don’t see the government making any progress,” said the 32-year-old.
Xaba, who is pregnant, said her child had to bath in cold water before school in the mornings.
“Sometimes I use a bonfire to boil water, but he has to use cold water when it rains. Even the food in the fridge is rotting. And I am worried because I expect to deliver my child next month. What will happen to my newborn baby?” Xaba asked.