Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya reaffirms the city’s commitment to relocate residents of Plastic View Informal Settlement after a disastrous fire on weekend.
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Plans to relocate residents of Plastic View, the fire-prone informal settlement in Pretoria east, have not changed, says Tshwane Mayor Nasiphi Moya.
This comes after another fire broke out at the informal settlement over the weekend, destroying multiple shacks, leaving many homeless, and killing one person.
In 2020, the city said objections and the Covid-19 pandemic had delayed plans to establish a new township Pretorius Park Extension 4 to accommodate Plastic View residents.
According to the city, the physical development of the site could not proceed unless the township establishment application and a general plan were approved.
Moya said during her visit to the settlement that the relocation plans are still the same, but priority would be given to relocating South African citizens living at the settlement.
“The land has been identified, Pretorius Park and the teams are busy now with the planning phase of the work that we need to do… We know that the residents that are here are not all South Africans. In terms of the law we must only relocate the South Africans that are here,” she said.
She noted that the city must work with the Department of Home Affairs to identify non-South Africans at the settlement and transfer them to the department.
“We attempted that exercise a few months ago when we came with SAPS, Gauteng government as well as ourselves as the City of Tshwane, the TMPD and sister departments where we wanted to restart that process… So, that plan still stands, it is just a matter of us to expedite that,” Moya said.
Tshwane Human Settlements MMC Aaron Maluleka said once the planning phase has been concluded the Gauteng government is going to build top-structures.
“We are going to yield 800 housing opportunities. As soon as we are done we are going to relocate people who are qualifying to occupy those houses,” he said, adding that the new township is a stone’s throw away from the informal settlement.
A planned mixed-residential township near Pretorius Park will house 853 families from Plastic View, which lies 900m away.
The development will include flats and townhouses for qualifying residents across different income brackets. It will be built on the remainder of Portion 284 of Farm Garstfontein 374-JR, a 6.4-hectare site located just east of Woodlands Shopping Centre.
Some residents in affluent surrounding suburbs, such as Woodlands, Woodhill Golf Estate, Mooikloof, Featherwood and The Wilds estate have been unhappy about the development on their doorstep.
Hannes Coetzee, MMC for Community Safety, said the Tshwane Emergency Services Department responded to a tragic shack fire incident at Plastic View Informal Settlement in Moreleta Park on Sunday.
“Preliminary reports indicate that approximately 150 shacks were affected by the fire. Assessments are currently underway to determine the full extent of the damage and the number of families displaced by the incident,” he said.
He said during search and recovery operations, firefighters tragically discovered the body of a child among the debris.
“At the time the fire started, residents were unable to evacuate everyone safely, and the child was reported missing when Emergency Services arrived on scene. The exact cause of the fire remains unknown at this stage,” Coetzee said.
On behalf of the city, he expressed deepest condolences to the family, loved ones and community affected by the tragic incident.
rapula.moatshe@inl.co.za