Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says he is worried about the rapid rate at which informal settlements in the province are multiplying.
He was speaking during his state of the province address (Sopa) in the south of Johannesburg on Monday.
“We cannot allow our beautiful province to be reduced to a shanty town. Of late, major parts of our province are witnessing an abnormal rise in the number of informal settlements,” he said.
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How to stop informal settlements from growing
Lesufi said the province has put in place a number of interventions to prevent it from degenerating. This includes roping in municipalities in the fight against the expansion of shack settlements.
“We have established a multi-disciplinary team to attend to the mushrooming of informal settlements. The first informal settlement to be removed by this team was Plastic City in Ekurhuleni, with over 2 500 people.”
He said the fight against the expansion of informal settlements does not mean his government is against the poor and the homeless.
“We are against the mkhukhu mafias who are taking advantage of our people,” he said.
Lesufi says in Tshwane, the Plastic View informal settlement has been problematic and is under the radar of the municipality’s authorities.
“We went there with the Saps [South African Police Service], metro police, and [Department of ] Home Affairs officials. However, we were not successful, but we have agreed to return later this year.”
Housing plans
Lesufi said government will on Tuesday hand over housing units in Benoni as part of efforts to remove the poor from informal settlements in the province.
These informal settlements include Chris Hani, Gabon, Zenzele informal settlements, Daveyton old section, Benoni, Actonville, Crystal Park, Mayfield Ext. 1, 6 & 7, Etwatwa, Barcelona, Emaphupheni and Wattville.
“We have reported before that the government has identified Makause informal settlement in Ekurhuleni as a key focus area for development and relocation to improve the living conditions of its residents.
“I am pleased to report that we have since acquired 200 hectares of land to upgrade this informal settlement. The process of land transfer and registration to the City of Ekurhuleni is underway,” he said.
Lesufi said the public sector has constructed almost 7000 housing units in the current financial year.
“We continue to prioritise the elderly, persons with disabilities, and military veterans, as well as individuals who have been on the waiting list for several years.
“Our target is to construct 8 644 houses in the new financial year,” he said.
Land parcels
To improve housing delivery, the province is now focused on providing fully serviced sites to qualifying residents who can build houses for themselves, as part of the groundbreaking Rapid Land Release Programme.
“We have released over 13 000 serviced stands since 2020, and in 2025 alone, we released over 3 600,” he said.
Highjacked buildings
Lesufi said he was also concerned about hijacked buildings in the provinces’ CBDs.
“In Tshwane, the city identified 33 municipal-owned hijacked buildings. And to date, they have reclaimed 7, which have been put out to the market for sale.
“The remaining buildings will be put to market this year. Marabastad plays a crucial role in the history of our country and cannot be forfeited to illegal foreigners. It is within this context that 12 properties covering 2.7 hectares of land in Marabastad have been demolished and will be put out to the market in the next quarter,” he said.
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