SA Constitution guarantees 'adequate' housing for all

10 May 2017 12:49 PM

Eldorado Park, Finetown and Ennerdale residents, in the South of Johannesburg, have been protesting citing lack of housing as the reason.

Police have had a tough time dispersing residents in the area since Sunday.

Residents say government has not delivered houses to these communities since 1994.

EWN reporter, Mia Lindeque, says police have had to use rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the crowd demanding government to listen to their demands.

#HousingProtest Protesters here in #FineTown are using slingshots to pelt police with stones.
ML pic.twitter.com/A8COcD8TMB
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 10, 2017

#HousingProtest Protesters are moving back into the residential area.
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— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 10, 2017

Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has said there isn't much that he can do to address residents' demands.

Mashaba says he took over the City with over 300 000 houses backlog in 2016.

Also read: Gauteng to allocate land to residents for housing

The Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) spokesperson, Zenaida Martin, says free housing is not a good idea for South Africa to embark on in a long term.

Martin also says government would also need to rethink the standards of free houses as people's needs have changed since 1994.

The clause in the Constitution guarantees adequate housing to everyone in South Africa, it doesn't have to be free housing.
— Zenaida Martin, advocacy and communications manager at SPII

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Written by: Sinikiwe Mqadi