Pretoria - A political committee has been set up to find lasting solutions to the ongoing protests in the south of Gauteng.
The committee was established following a meeting between Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Cooperative and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen, Gauteng Human Settlements MEC Paul Mashatile, the Executive Mayors of Tshwane and Johannesburg, Solly Msimang and Herman Mashaba, respectively.
Eldorado Park, Freedom Park, Kliptown, Ennerdale, Lenasia and Finetown have been gripped by violent service delivery protests, which saw several shops being looted and vandalised, and roads barricaded with burning tyres and stones.
According to a joint statement released on Friday, the meeting resolved to constitute a political committee made up of elected politicians in their capacity as the Executive Authority, supported by a technical team made up of public service management drawn from relevant departments led by Human Settlements Director General, Mbulelo Tshangana.
At community level, steering committees will be established to include community leadership.
The meeting also acknowledged that the issues behind the protests were genuine and deserve a response that will give lasting solutions.
Some of these problems relate to lack of housing, jobs, illegal invasion of land, communities not benefiting from tenders and heightened levels of crime.
Both teams will work with community structures to ensure that any solution is responsive, inclusive and involves the community. The meeting further instructed the technical team to start working from today, Friday, 12 May.
The leaders also agreed that any interventions must be expedited and must provide visible improvements for the affected communities.
They also expressed their concern on the crime that clouded the genuine concerns of the various communities.
Both teams will convene a joint steering committee meeting on Sunday in Johannesburg and Tshwane on Monday. - SAnews.gov.za
