‘We are against the mkhukhu mafia’: Lesufi outlines plan to stop Gauteng becoming a ‘shanty town’

Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi: Picture: Nigel Sibanda 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. Lesufi said the province has put in placea number of interventionsto 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.

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Lesufi says in Tshwane, the Plastic View informal settlement has been problematic and is under the radar of the municipality’s authorities. 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.

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