Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba ‘has to give foreigners housing’
Mashaba is on a collision course with constitutional rights activists over housing for foreign nationals
Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba insists he will not use the city’s resources to house foreign nationals, putting himself on a collision course with those insisting on their constitutional rights. Mashaba said this week the city would build housing for South Africans, but it was not its responsibility to provide free housing to foreign nationals. Constitutional experts disagree, saying section 26 of the Constitution gives everyone, not only citizens, the right to adequate housing. There is a housing backlog of more than 300,000 households in Joburg, with the city only able to build about 2,000 houses in 2017 with government grants. Speaking to Business Day on Tuesday, Mashaba said he had no problem with building free houses for foreign nationals, if given the funding. "I am sure you are aware of the shortage of resources to build houses for our poor people in SA, in the City of Joburg. "I am saying my responsibility is to the people of this country. If ever anybody wants me to build hous...
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