A recent oversight visit to Cosmo City in Region C revealed that the community is plagued by the impact of illegal building and the state of roads in the area.

As the MMC responsible for Region C, I was joined by ward 100 councillor, Cllr Mapula Mosito, along with various City of Johannesburg officials in conducting an oversight visit to Cosmo City to investigate the impact of illegal building and the state of roads in the area.

We found numerous instances of illegal building which do not comply with the City’s bylaws and National Building Regulations. These put people’s lives at risk due to poor construction. This building activity leaves streets littered with rubble which block the drains, leading to streets being flooded with water and raw sewerage. We also witnessed several illegal businesses that also cause a lot of waste that end up washing down the roads.

While it is encouraging to see the local entrepreneurial spirit addressing housing shortages in the area, compliance with proper building codes is vital to protect vulnerable people.

​The residents of Ward 100 are facing rapidly crumbling roads which impact on people’s daily lives. Traffic chaos is caused by half of the main access road being blocked off with sewerage overflows as a result of blocked drains from rubble.