Addressing the community in a public meeting held at a local sports complex late last month, Mogale City Executive Mayor Councillor Koketso Calvin Seerane accompanied by Members of the Mayoral Committee said Mogale City has finalised processes to effect the community’s relocation.
Tudor Shaft informal settlement was established as a transit camp for communities affected by evictions when West Rand mining companies folded their operations as a result of reduced ore production. As it happened in other parts of the country especially in Gauteng, many people who were attracted by economic opportunities in the province, trekked to Mogale City and found a way of settling in Tudor Shaft, thus leading to growth of the settlement.
The area has been subject of several studies conducted by various independent and government agencies interested in the socio-economic and environmental impact of mining in former mining towns. These included the National Nuclear Regulator which found that some portions of land in the Tudor Shaft informal settlement had uranium deposits thus full of radioactive material which necessitated relocation of the community.
The municipality commenced with a stop-gap measure of relocating 197 families who resided on highly radioactive planes in the settlement whilst identifying suitable land through which a permanent solution would be found for the community.
“As a caring government, we could not fold our arms in the midst of objective findings and advice by an authoritative institution like the National Nuclear Regulator which told us that there are health risks that face communities residing in Tudor Shaft,” said the Executive Mayor.
“We did not want to cut corners in the process of finding a permanent solution for Tudor Shaft because we are committed to providing quality services to all our communities. Therefore we identified several land portions, subjected to necessary tests in order to ascertain their suitability for relocation.
“When we were convinced that the land was developable and could accommodate the densities we were looking at, we committed funds and came up with proper processes to effect relocation hence we are here today,” he added.
The Executive Mayor pointed out that Mogale City and provincial government could not formalise Tudor Shaft informal settlement because the regulator had indicated that the area is highly toxic. However, a solution has ultimately been found by government.
“We want to announce that we could not handle this task alone as a municipality since housing is a provincial government competency and we consulted with them to assist. Government has set aside R32 million to relocate residents of Tudor Shaft to Leratong Nodal Development, Kagiso Extension 13, Chief Mogale Phase 2 and other developments around the city,” the Executive Mayor said to applause from residents.
The community was also informed that contractors were already demarcating sites and installing bulk infrastructure services. Despite the fact that the municipality will ensure orderly relocation, mechanisms will also be put in place to ensure that the settlement does not grow at the back of the announcement by the executive.
The community was urged to cooperate with the municipality in ensuring that new shack structures are not built in the area.