The first phase of a provincial housing project at the Princess informal settlement in Roodepoort has came to a halt, with no sign of work in over two months.
A year later, and despite repeated calls from community activists, the land allocated for phase one of the project remains empty.
A recent question by Janet Semple, DA Gauteng Housing spokesperson, to Human Settlements MEC Ntombi Mekgwe in the Provincial Legislature revealed that out of the R15 million budget for the project only R609 000 had been spent to date. The project was supposed to supply 1 900 units, which includes a mix of two to three storey “walk-up units”.
Princess informal settlement was the site of several violent service delivery protests in 2012, with community members claiming they have not received houses since 1996. The department announced the housing project in September last year in response to these protests.
While this may have placated the local community, rising tensions due to the two-month delay in construction and apparent neglect by the department could become the grounds for further violent protests.
Local DA Councillor Gert Niemand echoed concerns over growing tensions, saying that “the community feels betrayed by the MEC’s broken promises”.
