Expropriate unused land for human settlement

Wednesday, August 29, 2018

City of Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina has called for undeveloped land to be expropriated and used to address human settlement.

Speaking at the Metropolis Annual Meeting underway at the Sandton Convention Centre on Wednesday, Masina said this would be done to accommodate the growing population in adequate human settlements.

Masina was a panelists on the topic of Inclusive Settlement Development.

In his address, the Mayor indicated that while Ekurhuleni was rolling out serviced stands and rental stock projects as part of its strategies to provide adequate human settlements, the expropriation of undeveloped land was also an option.

“We will tap into exploring options of expropriating land that has remained unused and undeveloped since 1994 in the interest of promoting inclusive human settlement,” Masina said.

Among the projects that are currently underway that the Mayor alluded to, he said the metro had embarked on a project of allocating serviced stands to communities living in congested informal settlements.

This process, he said, will allow for the areas to be settled and where residents had their dignity restored by having access to basic services, such as electricity, roads and water.

The City has a target of providing 6 000 rental stock units during the current term of office. These types are already finished and occupied at the Germiston city centre. This is to cater for residents who are not ready to buy a house, and those who previously had little means to live in the CBD, closer to work.

“The 6 000 rental stock target for the five-year term will double the number of rental stock units that the City already has,” he said.

The Metropolis Annual Meeting that continues until 29 August is hosting mayors of big international cities and local cities, leaders of national and regional governments as well as global development partners.

The Metropolis Annual Meeting was held with recognition that local governments are major actors in the global response to the urban challenges of the century. - SAnews.gov.za