Gauteng Premier David Makhura denies national government’s claim of a budget of R1.3 billion set aside towards the Alexandra Project Renewal.
During the midst of the #AlexTotalShutdown protests, Gauteng Premier David Makhura has denied allegations of over R1 billion set aside by government for the Alexandra Renewal Project. According to the City of Johannesburg’s website, the national government had set aside R1.3 billion towards the project that “aims to improve the physical, social, and economic environment of Alexandra, thereby instilling a culture of civic pride.”
Makhura has vehemently denied this, saying he “dismisses any notion that national government put billions of rands into the Alexandra Renewal Project.” He, instead, said that the project was fully funded by the City of Johannesburg and the provincial government of Gauteng. In response to the community of Alexandra’s protesting residents, Makhura said he would demolish any illegal structures in the community.
He ended off by confirming that he had accepted the memorandum of demands from the protestors and took it upon himself to brief President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of his visit to the community of Alex on Thursday, 11 April 2019.
However, residents of Alexandra have warned President Ramaphosa not to expect an easy visit on Thursday. Thabo Shabangu, a resident, said that the protests were strategically planned right before elections because it was the best time to highlight the issues of the community.
“Ramaphosa shouldn’t think his visit to Alexandra is going to be easy,” said Shabangu. “He will be treated the same as Mashaba. We want answers [as to] why our community has been neglected and how they will fix it, regardless of political parties.”
Abenathi Gqomo
a.gqomo@politicalanalysis.co.za
