By: Natasha Archary
Hundreds of Protea South residents in Lenasia, south of Johannesburg, face eviction with no guarantee that they will be allocated new housing.
This according to the DA Gauteng, who say the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements are threatening to evict the residents who have been living there for decades.
In a public meeting held with concerned residents at Ward 10, Protea South, the DA expressed concern that there is no solution in place to migrate the residents.
“It is unacceptable for the department to evict people without providing alternative accommodation as these people have nowhere to go.
Frustrated residents were told in 2006 there was a resolution by the City of Joburg, to migrate residents to Roodepoort Farm.
Residents were informed that parts of the land were uninhabitable due to dolomite which is a type of limestone.”
According to the DA, a court ruling in 2014 confirmed that residents were not at a high risk of dolomite contamination and could continue living and building in Protea South.
But now, pressure is mounting for the residents to vacate the area with no where to go.
The DA says demands for answers from the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements has fallen on deaf ears and there’s no urgency in addressing the issue.
“While we acknowledge that dolomite is a life-threatening mineral and property risk, we suspect that this current government is using it as an excuse to gain access to the state coffers to enrich themselves.
There is also a government building that will be constructed on the same land where people will be evicted, and we also demand to know who will benefit from this project.
The DA is not against protecting our residents from the risk of dolomite and other natural disasters; however, we are against the current government using service delivery issues as a cash cow.”
