Life in Matholesville is still hell
Three years after first Human Rights Commission inspection, services in informal settlement have not improved
Nthabiseng Mgiqwa’s shack is right opposite an old gold mine shaft‚ which is filled with plastics‚ used nappies‚ rotting vegetables and dirty water. She says that life in Matholesville informal settlement in Roodeport‚ Johannesburg‚ is hell and doesn’t believe it will ever change. It’s Friday and the South African Human Rights Commission (HRC) has just carried out a follow-up inspection to get a firsthand account from the residents regarding conditions in the settlement. The HRC first inspected Matholesville on September 17 2014 and found that there were insufficient communal water taps and toilets‚ poor sanitation‚ a lack of health services and electricity and high levels of crime. It held discussions with the City of Johannesburg‚ the provincial Department of Housing and the South African Police Services‚ but a re-inspection on July 21 this year revealed that nothing had changed since 2014. Mgiqwa‚ a mother of three who moved to Matholesville in 1998 when her partner found a job i...
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