Ramaphosa appoints task team to probe Alex grievances
President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed an inter-ministerial task team to investigate the demands of the residents on Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
The task team will include all spheres of government and will start their work in the protest-hit community on Wednesday.
Cooperative Governance Minister Zweli Mkhize says various government officials, including Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba, will visit the area to speak to community leaders.
“This is to prepare them for an inter-governmental relations forum which will be hosted next week involving the City of Johannesburg, Premier David Makhura and all the departments affected.”
The intervention comes after Mashaba’s meeting with the community on Monday ended without the mayor being given an opportunity to address residents.
“The issues of housing backlog and houses that have been hijack, invasion, the inability to curb illegal invasion, the sewerage spillage, the crime, illegal electricity connections – all of these issues are genuine, and we believe they need attention,” Mkhize says.
He has urged protesting residents to respect the rule of law.
“We are going to resolve blockages in service delivery. We do believe local government and various municipalities must take seriously the issue of service delivery and respond quickly.”