CoJ’s Mlungisi Mabaso says vacant container flats in Alex to be allocated after structural integrity approved
Joburg Human Settlements MMC Mlungisi Mabaso has urged Alexandra residents to be patient as the city worked to provide housing for homeless and vulnerable families.
Mabaso conducted an inspection of the government-owned container flats in the community on Friday afternoon, which have been under construction since 2020.
The flats were intended to accommodate residents from congested areas but were never allocated for various reasons.
Recently, community members who had occupied the container flats illegally were evicted by the City of Joburg.
Homeless Alexandra residents, who are desperately in need of dignified housing, protested outside the Alexandra container flats, hoping that Mabaso would hear their cries.
Mabaso acknowledged that the flats had been in construction for far too long but also said that the city needed to complete the necessary checks and balances before allocating them to residents.
He said that the vacant container flats in Alexandra would only be allocated once engineers had approved their structural integrity.
“Today we are here because we need to assess the damage. After we have assessed the damage, then we need to fix whatever that is broken because we need to allocate. We understand the frustration from the community. I mean this site has been under construction for almost four years now.
“The units are not ready for occupation and up until they are ready, that’s when we will open them for allocation,” Mabaso said.
A homeless Alexandra resident, Thapelo Machaba, said it was disappointing that political leaders did not provide a workable solution.
“We were hoping for an alternative solution because there are many houses here in Gauteng. We just hope that they gather themselves and help people.”
The MMC was unable to provide a timeline for when the Alexandra container flats would be allocated to residents.
-EWN
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