Protesters block busy Vereniging road to complain about stalled housing project

Kanana Park residents blocked roads after hearing that a stalled housing project would only resume on election day. Photo: Silver Sibiya

Residents of Kanana Park informal settlement in Thulamntwana township south of Johannesburg blocked the busy road to Vereeniging with burning tyres and large stones on Monday.

They were complaining that a housing development project which appears to have ground to a halt will only resume on 29 May, election day. The project involves roads, streetlights, water infrastructure, and RDP housing.

At one point, protesters sat in the middle of the road while police negotiated with leaders for the group to disperse.

According to community leader Tumisho Kgopa, the housing project started in 2021 with a total budget of R45-million to be spent in R15-million tranches.

Kgopa said that just a few months after work started, the contractors abandoned the site. He said the contractor said the work would resume on 29 May.

City of Johannesburg Ward 6 Councillor Solly Phometsi confirmed that work would resume on 29 May. Asked why the project had been stalled, he said he had not been councillor at the time and could not explain.

City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane had not responded to GroundUp’s questions at the time of publication.

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