October 11, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE road leading to Sol Plaatje, an informal settlement buried deep in the disused vastness of the abandoned Durban Roodepoort Deep mining compound, is bumpy, potholed and almost impassable.
Several taxis, laden with residents from the settlement travelling to and from the town of Roodepoort a few kilometres away, swish past, twisting and turning, trying to avoid the pools of water and rivulets running across the road. A sign tells people that the informal settlement is being upgraded into a formal township.
Established in 1999 when hundreds of people from informal settlements around Maraisburg were relocated to the mining compound, Sol Plaatje has been an eyesore – just like the huge mine dump overlooking it – in the otherwise lush surroundings.
Unable to be accommodated in the blocks of mining hostels, residents haphazardly erected row upon row of hundreds of tin, wood and plastic shacks on the uneven ground. There developed a settlement of mostly unemployed people, a settlement with no electricity, running water or municipal services and far from social amenities.
A double-storey block is ready for occupation at Sol Plaatje
In 2000, more displaced residents from Wilgespruit informal settlement poured into the already crowded settlement, creating an accommodation crisis. Sol Plaatje spread with the spaces between the mining hostels soon filling up with shacks.
Evictions
The City of Johannesburg, after a protracted battle with residents of Mandelaville, an informal settlement near Diepkloof in Soweto, got a high court interdict to evict about 2 000 families – and they, too, were crammed into the already crowded mining compound, with some spilling over to erect shacks in the surrounding empty land of the abandoned mine.
New RDP housing go up
Eight years after the first residents moved into Sol Plaatje, the face of the informal settlement is changing. The Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) is converting it into a formalised township, building new roads, providing street lighting and facilitating connections to electricity and water grids.
"We have waited so long for decent houses," says Brownlee Dlamini Krwece, a long-time resident and community liaison officer at Sol Plaatje. He is tasked with updating residents about the housing developments in the settlement.
Krwece lives in a one-roomed shack but he hopes to move into one of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses being built at the settlement.
"There are three housing typologies being built. There are original hostel blocks that are being converted into apartments consisting of a kitchen, a sitting room and [a] bedroom; then there are C-type blocks which comprise of one-bedroom units being built from scratch, and the RDP housing units."
Family units
Krwece says there are 109 blocks being converted into family units and by the end of 2009, 2 259 units are expected to have been built. The first families moved into the 140 flats already completed at the beginning of the year and a further 290 units are expected to be finished soon.
David Matumba, another community liaison officer at Sol Plaatje, says their work has broadened into registering new names and processing new applications for housing subsidies.
"The actual allocation of houses is done by the City of Johannesburg. What we do is check the number of shacks in the township and verify ownership. There are 2 877 families living at Sol Plaatje, according to our official figures."
More than 140 families at Sol plaatje have moved into their new homes
Some residents' applications have been rejected because they have already been granted subsidies or they earn more than R7 500 a month. Those who earn more than this amount are advised to opt for rental units being developed in the Roodepoort central business district, according to Matumba.
Problems
Inevitably, problems have been encountered in the allocation of houses. Matumba says some people sell their RDP houses and go back to living in shacks.
"There are also people who complain that some people jump the queue. But this is not the case because we have specific criteria that we use. The aged and the disabled are given first preference for ground-floor houses and the younger applicants are allocated either the converted double storey units or C-type blocks."
Another community liaison officer, Joseph Letjoko, is upbeat about the developments. He is one of the younger residents of the settlement and is optimistic about the ongoing work being done by Joshco.
"There may be complaints here and there but, generally, residents are happy about what is going on. Many people did not want to leave Mandelaville but here there is running water and soon electricity will be available."
Nogcinile Mcikithi, one of the first residents of Sol Plaatje, recently moved into her house but laments over the steep steps leading into her bedroom.
"I am very happy that I finally have a roof over my head, but I have to get used to climbing the steps to get to the bedroom. I fear that I may fall one day," she says, holding on to the walls as she clambers down the steps into her sitting room.
Silvertown
At the far west fringe of Sol Plaatje, there is a small settlement of silver shacks. "This is what we call Silvertown, a transit settlement for those who have been moved from their shacks or block of hostels [that is] being upgraded," Letjoko explains.
Silvertown comprises of 401 shacks and there is a hive of activity as families move in and out. Zolile Mabhentsela, who has lived here since the beginning of September, says the roof of her shack leaks. "I am also scared that if a strong wind blows, the roof will be blown off," she says, pointing to the bricks she has placed on the roof.
Silvertown, a transit village at Sol Plaatje, is home to 401 families
Mabhentsela hopes she will move to her new house soon "if people don't jump the housing queue". "I have been living in a shack for too long but since I have been moved to Silvertown, my hopes of getting a decent roof have been renewed."
Turning to infrastructure, Letjoko says the road leading Sol Plaatje from Roodepoort should be given first preference. "Taxis transporting working residents and school children use the road every day. It's essential that the City looks into upgrading it - especially since the rain season is upon us. Also, the main road cutting through the township is muddy due to construction work taking place."
There is only one primary school serving the whole settlement and Letjoko says a secondary school is desperately needed. School children commute to Dobsonville, Meadowlands and other surrounding townships to attend secondary school.
Library and clinic
"At least we have a library and a community hall, and a temporary clinic is operational. We would be glad to have more sports and recreation facilities like sports fields and parks."
Despite the abject poverty of many residents, there is a vibe in the settlement. Groups of children play in the streets and women can be seen plaiting, washing and gossiping. The inevitable shebeens are doing a roaring business alongside the spaza shops that seem to occupy every corner of Sol Plaatje.
"After all the developments have been completed, Sol Plaatje is one township that residents are going to be proud of. I am proud of what is happening now," Letjoko says.
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