MMC for Housing, Cllr Mlungisi Mabaso

Esteemed Guests,
 

It is significant that a day after Human Rights Day we find ourselves breaking ground on a project that will give over 1100 families the dignity of a home with the necessary amenities.

As a cornerstone of our constitutional democracy, the Bills of Rights, expresses the basic rights we are all entitled to by virtue our very existence.

Section 26 of the Constitution is direct in its articulation of housing, when it says, “Everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing.”

It then goes on further to state the responsibility of those of us who have been elected to lead, where it says, “The state must take reasonable legislative and other measures, within its available resources, to achieve the progressive realisation of this right.”

The City’s seven service priorities also align with the Constitution, with priority 5 committing the Multi-Party Government to building an Inclusive City, where every corner of Joburg is a place where residents have all the amenities, they need to live a quality life with access to housing and job opportunities.

The work that the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (JOSHCO) does is imperative in the work that we are doing to build the City and making it a home for all its residents, regardless of their class.

It is also vital that when government builds social and affordable rental units it does so close to economic hubs and transport corridors, and in a way that it brings different people together, which is exactly what Riverside Social Development Housing Development achieves.

The development responds to the need for affordable and decent housing around Diepsloot, Midrand, Fourways, and the surrounding areas in line with the City’s Housing Policy of Breaking New Ground and building an inclusive municipality and restoring dignity through affordable rental accommodation.

In the short time I have been Executive Mayor of Johannesburg, I have always been happy to receive a call from MMC Mlungisi Mabaso, because he calls to announce that he is either starting a new housing project or ready to handover a project to people who have been extremely patient in waiting for their needs and rights to be fulfilled by the government of the day.

The Joburg Multi-Party Government is forceful in addressing the housing backlog and ensuring that residents of different income bands can access housing and housing opportunities near economic opportunities.

In the early days of this years, the Multi-Party Government sketched a map for the rest of the financial year, ending in June, and beyond. Among the projects on the map is this very project, and I am happy that we can say we have kept our word in breaking ground; next on the journey is completing the project, on time and within budget so that families can call this place home.

Gone are the days where low-income earners are relegated to the peripheries of the City, with little access to opportunities. The Multi-Party is determined to build a City that is liveable for all its residents.                                                        

When we were appointing the boards of the municipal entities, I was clear to the MMC that we need women and men who fully understand the role of JOSHCO in the service delivery ecosystem, which is to play an integral part in efforts to eradicate the housing backlog within the City of Johannesburg.

The City of Gold must pay social and economic dividends to all 6-million of its residents, especially those who in many ways rely on the government to do it work.

This is just the start of what we are going to achieve during this five-year term, with housing projects at various stages across six of the eight regions, which will house thousands of residents conveniently, comfortably, and safely.

When we began this journey and articulated the Golden Start, I was definitive in stating that I want Johannesburg to be construction site. A construction site signifies three things: 1. We are building and investing in a City that has been neglected for too long; 2. We are reigniting the economic engine of the country; and 3. We are tackling the housing backlog.

I am excited by what this Multi-Party Government is set to achieve, which I will outline in the State of the City Address taking place in just under a month, on 21 April 2022.

I look forward to coming back here to handover these properties to its new residents.

The Joburg Multi-Party Government is one that follows through on service delivery its commitments.