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Gauteng residents in informal settlements have been left confused and disappointed following the mixed messages sent by Premier Panyaza Lesufi and the Gauteng Human Settlements MEC, Tasneem Motara, on the upgrading of informal settlements. The mixed signals affirm that the Gauteng Provincial Government (GPG) is not only out of sync but also out of touch with the bleak realities encountered by the millions of people without a place to call home in our province. The Democratic Alliance (DA) demands that Premier Lesufi and MEC Motara stop contradicting each other and find viable solutions for Gauteng's acute housing crisis.

MEC Motara, in an official media statement released by the Department of Human Settlements on Tuesday, 02 September 2025, boasts about the successful upgrading of nine informal settlements through the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme, claiming that “this achievement represents hope, dignity and stability.” 

Almost simultaneously, the Premier held a media briefing where he startlingly admitted that there is a mushrooming of informal settlements in the province and stated that there is “going to be an unprecedented number of evictions and dismantling of informal settlements”.

This admission by the Premier is an embarrassment for the MEC and the department, as the upgrading of informal settlements has failed thousands of residents who reside in informal settlements, with nowhere to go.

The Premier's admission comes rather late, as the DA warned the GPG in 2014 about the rapid growth of informal settlements and the need to formalise services in them to make life a bit comfortable for residents while proper housing is sought for them.

While the Premier is bold in his intention to demolish informal settlements, he fails to provide an alternative or clarify where residents will be relocated to afterwards. 

Sadly, failure is a common issue in the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements. Mega housing projects remain incomplete and vandalised; Hostels like Madala are inhabitable and have not been included in the Hostel Redevelopment Plan, which would convert them into family units; and the Rapid Release Programme has been a complete flop.

This makes it more important to reassess how best to reduce the over 1.3 million housing waiting list deficit in Gauteng, rather than the mixed messages that have dominated this week.

The DA demands that the Premier and MEC Motara take accountability for causing uneasiness among residents of informal settlements with their inconsistent messages. What Gauteng residents need is a concrete plan to resolve the housing crisis, not a media spectacle for attention.

A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would urgently introduce incentives to attract major private sector investment facilitated by fast-tracking deregulation initiatives. We will also introduce the DA master infrastructure plan and remove incompetent and dishonest officials who have hampered the housing waiting list.

Issued by Mervyn Cirota MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements