PRETORIA, Gauteng — The rapid proliferation of Tshwane informal settlements has pushed the capital city’s housing crisis to a breaking point, leading deeply frustrated residents in Pretoria East to declare they will boycott the upcoming local government elections.
In 2020, the municipality recorded approximately 200 informal settlements. By 2026, that number has skyrocketed to more than 500, highlighting a severe and rapid expansion of unplanned communities over the past six years.
In areas like Cemetery View and Plastic View, the living conditions paint a grim picture of urban density and neglect. Residents emphasize that these communities are entirely self-built. “Everything that is here, the community have done it themselves,” one resident noted, pointing out the absolute lack of municipal support, from basic building materials like zinc and bricks to food parcels. The sentiment on the ground is one of profound marginalization, with locals expressing that the government treats them “as animals” rather than human beings.
This systemic neglect has translated into widespread political apathy. Facing narrow, congested passages between shacks and enduring years of unfulfilled promises, many residents have vowed not to vote.
“We’re not going to vote; we’re not going to waste our time,” a resident stated, criticizing politicians for making empty promises about relocation and better living conditions only to leave them in the same precarious environments. Another resident, who has lived in the settlement for 18 years, highlighted the severe lack of employment and the tragic realities of the community. They noted that vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities and children, continue to suffer and die due to the lack of basic housing development.
Acknowledging the crisis, Aaron Maluleka, the Tshwane MMC for Housing & Human Settlements, outlined the municipality’s macro-level strategy. Maluleka revealed that the city requires approximately R28 billion for bulk infrastructure to effectively connect and develop human settlements. Speaking at a recent housing symposium where investors were engaged to understand the complexities of the crisis, he explained that the surge in informal settlements is closely tied to economic migration.
According to Maluleka, these settlements organically mutate and grow near economic hubs, industrial parks, and affluent suburbs because migrants are drawn to economic opportunities but are priced out of formal rental markets.
“These are individuals that are deliberate to settle there because they’re looking for opportunities,” Maluleka explained. He argued that the solution is not to view these communities as a nuisance, but to integrate them into the economy. His proposed response includes developing social housing closer to industrial parks and affluent areas to accommodate essential workers, such as gardeners and domestic workers, thereby plugging them directly into economic opportunities.
While the city maintains that a comprehensive plan is in place to address the mushrooming of informal settlements, the stark contrast between the R28 billion infrastructure vision and the daily struggles of residents in Cemetery View and Plastic View leaves a lingering question: whether the municipality will finally implement its strategies or repeat the cycle of broken promises.
