MEC Mashatile moves to resolve Zandspruit concerns

01 May 2016

 

The Gauteng Provincial Government is to establish a task team to look into the grievances of the residents of Zandspruit, which has been marred by violent protests over the past few weeks following a clampdown on illegal electricity connections in the area.

 

Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements Paul Mashatile announced the move at a public meeting attended by more than 2 000 residents on Saturday April 30.
Zandspruit, near Honeydew, is in the City of Johannesburg’s Region C.

MEC Mashatile was accompanied to the meeting by City of Johannesburg Member of the Mayoral Committee for Environmental and Infrastructure Services Councillor Matshidiso Mfikoe, officials of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements and their City Power and Eskom counterparts.

MEC Mashatile said the task team would be set up on Tuesday May 3 and would consist of representatives of a number of City of Johannesburg entities, Eskom and the Zandspruit community.

“All stakeholders will meet on Tuesday to map the way forward. They will report directly to me. I will then come back to you to tell you of the progress,” Mashatile said.

“We will reconnect the electricity but only to those who are legally connected,” he said.

Addressing the crowd earlier, MEC Mashatile said: “The people of Zandspruit, we have heard your cries. You’re not a forgotten community. Help is on its way. I’m making this undertaking to you, the community of Zandspruit, today. The undertaking is that from this meeting I will be meeting the Mayor of Johannesburg, Parks Tau. I will also meet all the stakeholders regarding your area,” Mashatile said.

Earlier, Computer Maake, representing the Zandspruit Community Movement, told officials that the community wanted electricity.

“We demand electricity, and we demand it now. Not towards or after the local government elections in August. We’re sick and tired of this government’s empty promises. We’ve a memorandum of our demands here. We expect you, MEC Mashatile, to accept and sign it. And we expect to see the government responding to our demands as soon as today. We voted for this government. We love this government. And this government is going to improve the lives and living conditions of the people of Zandspruit,” Maake said.

MEC Mashatile did accept and sign the memorandum. Zandspruit was established shortly after the 1994 democratic elections. It is adjacent the Diepsloot informal settlement and the semi-affluent Cosmo City.