Slovo Park Informal Settlement Upgrade Shows Promise

The Slovo Park community in Soweto is finally seeing progress in its long-awaited upgrade, with promises of new roads, adequate water, electricity supply, dignified sanitation, and consistent refuse removal. The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements last week conducted a weeklong oversight visit to the area, focusing on community development and service delivery.

The committee reaffirmed the government’s commitment to improving living conditions after a decade-long delay. Slovo Park is an informal settlement that was established in 1991 in Soweto, South of Johannesburg. It is one of thousands of townships across the country that have been earmarked for mal housing upgrades.

During the visit, the MMC for Human Settlement in the City of Joburg, Mlungi si Mabaso, highlighted the City’s focus on delivering essential services and improving safety in the area. “As a government, it is our mandate to listen to the community and respond to their needs. “Slovo Park has been left behind for too long, and today, we reaffirm our commitment to restoring its dignity.

Mabaso added that during the upgrade, they will also include the installation of solar-powered high-mast lights with integrated cameras and Wi-Fi, and they will also fast-track the procurement for water services. The Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Tasneem Motara, said that when it comes to road infrastructure, community facilities, and township formalisation, the processes are underway and the progress will be seen by November.

Motara said the Slovo Park’s journey reflects a broader national effort to restore dignity through in-situ upgrades, as envisioned by the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP). “There will also be a verification process to ensure that all qualifying households are allocated stands at Southern Farms while the refurbishment of the informal settlement takes place.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the committee, Nocks Seabi, said, “While the plans are commendable, in the context of the his tory of promises made to the residents of Slovo Park, the only thing that will bring comfort to the committee is the actual implementation of these plans.

We reaffirmed our commitment to monitor the delivery of all agreed milestones.” The upgrade of Slovo Park is part of a broader national effort to restore dignity through in-situ upgrades, with over 2,500 residents awaiting relocation and 374 households already identified.