Mogale City responsible for Ruimsig informal settlement
Ruimsig informal settlement now part of Mogale City.
The Ruimsig Informal Settlement has officially been demarcated as part of Mogale City, and falls into Ward 28.
The people in the settlement suffered from a lack of facilities and resources, which were not provided due to its unclear status in the City of Johannesburg (CoJ). Ward 97 councillor and MMC for Economic Development, Leah Knott, started tackling this issue early in her term as the confusion was negatively impacting the residents’ access to healthcare services and police stations, and preventing them from enrolling their children in schools.
“Their right to dignity and basic human rights needs to be the main concern.
I have subsequently confirmed with both the Demarcation Board and the CoJ Town-planning and GIS (geographic information systems) Departments that Ruimsig Informal Settlement falls completely within Ward 28 of Mogale City under councillor Jean Kotze,” said Knott.
The settlement is situated on land owned by the CoJ. In 2009, attempts were made to establish a township via land use management in order to be able to develop the land. However, services were an issue and a sub-division application was pended. Following this, a meeting was arranged between Mogale City and CoJ, and attended by both MMCs for Housing, the Regional Housing Heads from each municipality, and councillors Knott and Kotze.
Read more: Ruimsig squatters – home owners raise their concerns
The MMC for Housing in the CoJ has tasked the Regional Housing Head to prepare a report for the Mayoral Committee on this settlement. Housing discussed this matter with the Joburg Property Company (JPC) at a meeting on 8 August in order to clarify certain details for the report.
The assets department of the JPC will also need to engage with Mogale City in respect of possible negotiation on the land, as the CoJ is precluded from providing services to or developing land not within the municipal boundary.
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