Alex residents accuse CoJ of embezzling funds meant to deal with community's housing crisis

JOHANNESBURG - Alexandra residents have accused the City of Johannesburg of embezzling millions of rands meant to deal with the community’s housing crisis.

Hundreds of container homes built as COVID-19 shelters in the densely populated area remain vacant and unused with some still under construction.

Out of desperation, some residents illegally occupied the containers since last year. 

Earlier this week, the City of Johannesburg removed the occupants from the containers saying they were trespassing. 

READ: Evicted Alex residents lash out at CoJ, say it has neglected constitutional duty to ensure adequate housing

The city said the containers, stacked three storeys high, were dormant for nearly four years due to a lack of connection to bulk services, including water and electricity.

Speaking on behalf of the community, Thabiso Dube said they had hoped for proper housing for many years and it seems the city was not heeding this call.

"We took it upon ourselves to gather some funds for us to complete the project because they abandoned the project for five years. They couldn't complete it because they embezzled funds. There's running water and electricity there."

Dube said there were at least two other container sites that were still under construction in the area.

City spokesperson Nthatisi Modingoane: "So far, we are just under R100 million that has been used. You don't put people in a place that is not certified to be habitable for human beings."

In July 2020, the metro earmarked R500 million to roll out the project with each unit costing around R60,000.