DA urges metro to relocate residents of Windmill Park
The Ekurhuleni DA has urged the metro to speed up the process of relocating residents of D Section in Windmill Park, Boksburg.
Answering questions posed by DA Clr Tsholofelo Motshidi, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Human Settlements, Queen Duba, said that the land currently used by D Section residents, belonged to the Department of Public Works and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) respectively.
Duba said that there is proposed development on this land and these residents will have to be relocated to make this possible.
The relocation is only in the planning stages, and may take up to three years before it is implemented, subject to budget and funding availability for construction from top structures.
A resident from Section D, Solomon Mngomezulu, expressed a plea to the metro to speed up the relocation process.
He said it was difficult to raise a family under the conditions of the informal settlement, and it would be a great help if the metro could formalise the area and provide urgently needed services such as electricity and sanitation.
“We will hold council to its report and warn the metro not to relocate the community without proper consultation and notice,” said Motshidi.
Unplanned relocations, frequently due to poor governmental planning are, hugely disruptive especially to residents who have spent years in a certain area where their children are at school.
“We understood the burden the government has to provide housing. The DA’s proposal is that the government formalise informal settlements.
Most residents are happy to build their own top structures, as long as they know they have land security and infrastructure is provided for them the access basic services.”
