DA committed to giving Gauteng residents security of tenure

Today, I witnessed the handing over of 36 title deeds in Soweto by the City of Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba.

33 businesses and three different churches in Soweto were given title deeds. This is part of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) commitment in ensuring that those who occupy the land, where their businesses and churches are situated become the owners of the land.

This is not the first time that we have handed over title deeds to business owners in Soweto.

Last year June, as part of the City of Johannesburg’s Land Regularisation Programme, we handed over title deeds to business owners who have been waiting for 30 years to become land owners.

We want South Africans to own their land and property, which is why the Land Regularisation Programme which aims to redress the distribution of council-owned land is so important.

Land ownership plays an important role in growing our economy and by handing over these title deeds, we are ensuring that our people who previously did not have an opportunity to own land are now given this chance.

The DA does not only pay lip service when talking about land ownership, but walks the talk by ensuring that businesses and churches operating from city-owned land are given title deeds.

Under the governance of the DA, the past injustices will be directly addressed and ownership will be rapidly expanded to those who were previously excluded.

Secure property rights are the cornerstone of any successful economy and any uncertainty around this will destabilise our economy.

The DA is the only party that is committed to giving people security of tenure by issuing titles deeds to businesses, churches and homeowners.

DA-led City of Johannesburg delivers more housing

by John Moodey MPL – DA Gauteng Provincial Leader

The DA-led City of Johannesburg delivered another 488 title deeds to beneficiaries in Zola North in Soweto today.
Recipients were selected on a first-come, first-serve basis in accordance with the longest standing housing applications submitted to the City’s housing department.
Some of these applications for these deeds date back as far as 1996.
Thousands of residents took occupation of these mainly four-roomed houses during the 1980s and the occupants were put on a 99 year lease, as they were only given the right to occupy the houses and not own them.
However, the system was undone in the democratic dispensation and the process of giving residents title deeds started in the 1990s.
The DA has handed over more than 5140 title deeds to residents in Braamfischerville, Diepkloof, Pennyville, Eldorado Park, Meadowlands and Orlando in Soweto in the two years since it took over the City of Johannesburg.
This is just one example of the DA’s commitment to improving the living conditions of citizens by giving residents the dignity that comes with owning a home.
Where we govern, we are changing the lives of people.
This is the beginning of real change that builds one South Africa for all.

Mashaba: Homes crumbling while Tau sits with all the title deeds

Note to editors: The following is an extract from a speech delivered by the Democratic Alliance’s Johannesburg Mayoral Candidate, Herman Mashaba, during the an oversight visit to address the issues of title deeds and housing in Kersie Dorp, Eldorado Park. Mashaba was joined by the Premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille, and DA Shadow Minister of Human Settlements, Makashule Gana MP.

Helen Zille and I have come to Eldorado Park to observe for ourselves the conditions in which you live.

We have been shocked and moved by what we’ve seen. Thank you for sharing your stories with us.

I feel a strong sense of betrayal in this community. It is clear that the ANC of today have betrayed both the Constitution and Mandela’s vision for our nation.

The most serious betrayal is the broken promise to provide dignified shelter to everyone.

Many families of Eldorado Park have been living in flats owned by the City for decades, yet you are still waiting for title deeds.

Tau is allowing your homes to crumble while he sits with all your title deeds.

When elected mayor on 3 August, the DA will do four things to turnaround the housing crisis in Johannesburg:

  1. We will pass ownership within six months by giving tens of thousands of people title deeds. The City of Cape Town has delivered 6,151 title deeds in the last year, compared to Johannesburg’s zero.
  2. We will halt housing list corruption by making the process transparent and open. This information will be made available on the internet.
  3. We will incentivise entrepreneurs who build environmentally friendly and sustainable homes.
  4. We will provide services to informal settlements and embrace them into the City.

We will also tackle the issue of inner city urban regeneration once and for all.

There will be an overhaul of zoning schemes and legislation to see an end to slumlords and derelict buildings in our city.

We will beef up the powers of the City to prevent the ownership and control of buildings being wrested from the rightful owners.

And, in the same way, the responsibility of owners to maintain their buildings will be strongly enforced.

Enforcement will no longer be the weakest aspect of the City’s behavior because weakness deters job creators and investors.

My administration will be fair and competent as we turn around Johannesburg’s housing crisis step by step, day by day.

You the voters must punish the ANC government for their failures on 3 August.

In March almost R1 billion in unused housing funds by Gauteng were sent back to the National Treasury.

This was a tragedy for Johannesburg in particular.

This investment is lost because the money has since been reallocated to other provinces.

Shack and backyard dwellers – the poorest of the poor – are the victims of this chronic mismanagement in this cold winter.

My administration will not abandon people’s hopes and dreams like Parks Tau’s administration has.

I know how important a home is, no matter how basic. A home is far more than a front door, four walls, and a roof.

I know that home ownership is about investing in savings, building a family, and planting roots in a community.

I also know that the struggle of this community is the struggle for jobs. There is a direct link between the jobs crisis and the housing crisis.

There are 869 000 unemployed people in Johannesburg, 66 000 of whom joined the ranks of the unemployed in the first quarter of 2016.

When elected mayor on 3 August, job creation will be my number one priority.

With jobs, people can buy their own homes, taking the pressure off the state to provide homes.

With jobs, we have more revenue to spend on the poor.

With jobs, we can lay pipelines of opportunity.

Every day I speak to disadvantaged men and women who have no jobs, who have no access to the most basic of human rights.

Parks Tau speaks about theory. I speak about action.

We will not abandon the people of Eldorado Park. The DA will stand by you, and stand up for you.

Vote for change on 3 August.

[IMAGE SOURCE]

Tau’s Administration Has Failed The People Of Ennerdale

Ennerdale – Lack of Housing

I am on my way to Ennerdale with DA Gauteng Leader, John Moodey and DA Joburg Caucus Leader, Vasco da Gama to stand united with yet another community who have been failed by the Tau administration.

This morning’s protests broke out in Ennerdale over a lack of housing after it was discovered that no money had been set aside in the Joburg City Budget for development in the area.

This despite MMC for Housing, Dan Bovu, visiting the community in 2015 and promising to build houses.

Over a year later, this was just another empty promise scarring the Tau administration’s legacy.

In 2015, Bovu stated, “We cannot be a world-class African city if we are not going to facilitate ownership of houses to the people who have been in these areas for years. Days of allocating houses in terms of colour or race are over”.

Ennerdale – Lack of Jobs

22 years into our democracy, these words fall hallow on the people of Ennerdale. What is this ‘new economic democracy’ that Tau speaks of?

Ultimately, the struggle of this community, like so many others in Joburg, comes down to a question of jobs.

There are currently 869 000 unemployed people in Joburg, 66 000 of whom joined the ranks of the unemployed in the first quarter of 2016.

When elected mayor on 3 August, job creation will be my number one priority.

If more people had jobs, they could afford to rent and buy their own houses. With Jobs, there would be more tax revenue available to provide houses and services for those who cannot provide for themselves.

#MashabaForMayor

When elected Mayor, I will also do four things to turnaround Joburg’s housing crisis:

  1.    Pass ownership within six months by giving tens of thousands of people title deeds.
  2.    Halt housing list corruption by making the process transparent and open.
  3.    Incentivise entrepreneurs who build environmentally friendly and sustainable homes.
  4.    Provide services to informal settlements and embrace them into the City.

I, like the people of Ennerdale, am gatvol of the Tau administration’s broken promises and self-serving agenda.

Enough is enough. Come 3 August, vote for the change you want to see.

 

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