The contentious issue of relocating informal settlement residents in Mamelodi to government-purchased land in Pienaarspoort Extension 15 remains unresolved.
This was highlighted on Thursday during an EFF-led march to Tshwane House, where demonstrators demanded transparency and accountability in the relocation process of people marred by allegations that some community leaders are demanding bribes from people in exchange for allocating them sites.
Demonstrators started at Burgers Park before proceeding to Tshwane House, where they handed over their memorandum of demands, which included a call for the city to furnish them with a rightful list of beneficiaries.
Last month, a group of EFF supporters, led by Bongani Ramontja, took a stand against corruption in the relocation process of informal settlement residents in Mamelodi.
They staged a protest by shutting down a makeshift office facilitating the relocations, citing allegations of corruption, bribery, and unfair practices.
Ramontja said in recent interactions with the city, it was revealed that an official implicated in the illegal sale of land has been identified.
He expressed concern that despite the revelation, no criminal case has been opened against the individual in question.
He said so far, only one official has been identified in connection with the illicit land sales. However, he expressed suspicion that this individual could not have acted alone, implying that others may be involved and are being protected by authorities.
“The intention of this march is that there must be transparency on people who are on the list of beneficiaries. If they don’t have the list, they must come to the squatter camps and start registering them afresh, capture them in their system, and subsequently allocate them to their rightful sites.”
He said the party has requested a meeting with relevant officials to discuss the issue at hand, but they have been given the run-around and not getting clear answers.
“We have seen lots of people being allocated sites and we don’t know where they are coming from. We have, therefore, asked to see a copy of their database containing the list of the rightful beneficiaries,” he said.
Ramontja said there are residents who have been living in the squatter camp since 1996 and still lack basic services such as water and electricity.
One of the demonstrators, Timothy Khoza, who has been living for 13 years at Nkandla informal settlement, expressed his frustration that nothing is happening in the area despite years of promises to relocate residents.
“Our children are growing up without a place to call home. We are urging the MMC of Human Settlements to allocate sites to us. The area is filthy, and it's taking them far too long to clean it up,” he said.
Fifi Lindane, a resident of Ward 100 in Skierlik, lamented the poor state of roads in the area, which become impassable during rainfall.
“We are forced to get off public transport far from our homes, making daily life a struggle. We are unhappy with the relocation process and demand a fair and transparent approach to securing new homes for our community,” she said.
Frans Boshielo, a Member of the Mayoral Committee for Utility Services, received the memorandum on behalf of the municipality.
He assured the protesters that a meeting would be convened soon, where community leaders would be invited to share their concerns and engage in a constructive dialogue to address the issues raised.