News / National
Lying Ramaphosa apologises
31 Aug 2024 at 21:35hrs | Views
President Cyril Ramaphosa has yielded to pressure from EFF leader Julius Malema and issued an apology to the residents of Alexandra for giving the impression in 2019 that his government would construct one million houses for them.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa delivered this apology during a National Assembly session, which marked his first appearance under the new government of national unity (GNU).
The apology came after Malema pressed him for an update on the progress of his 2019 promise to Alexandra residents, especially the ones in Stjwetla, an overcrowded area that frequently experiences flooding.
"President, it's leadership to admit you've made a mistake. You can't come here and say you've never promised the people of Alexandra a million houses. You said so…
"It is important to admit to say I made a mistake," Malema told Ramaphosa.
In response, Ramaphosa clarified that he had never pledged to build one million houses specifically for Alexandra.
Instead, the promise referred to a national target over five years, with other houses allocated for Stjwetla.
He explained that due to Alexandra's challenging topography, constructing one million houses in the area was impractical.
He added that the township could not accommodate a million houses.
"To the extent that it created this impression that I said a million houses for Alexandra, which objectively would not be possible anyway, because we just don't have the land there to build a million houses.
"And to the extent that it created that impression, yes, I will say I apologise for having made people believe that I meant for Alexandra.
"What I really meant was, yes, we would want to build a million houses for the whole country," Ramaphosa clarified.
Furthermore, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the national target of building one million houses was not achieved, with only 240,000 houses completed.
"There are many reasons why we failed to reach our target," he mentioned.
He further announced that 40,000 new homes would be constructed in Frankenwald and Linksfield to benefit the residents of Alexandra and Stjwetla.
Additionally, he highlighted the urgent need to relocate approximately 8,000 households currently residing within the floodplains of the Jukskei River.
To date, a few houses have been built in Alexandra and they are still in dire condition due to the flooding, according to residents.
On Thursday, Ramaphosa delivered this apology during a National Assembly session, which marked his first appearance under the new government of national unity (GNU).
The apology came after Malema pressed him for an update on the progress of his 2019 promise to Alexandra residents, especially the ones in Stjwetla, an overcrowded area that frequently experiences flooding.
"President, it's leadership to admit you've made a mistake. You can't come here and say you've never promised the people of Alexandra a million houses. You said so…
"It is important to admit to say I made a mistake," Malema told Ramaphosa.
In response, Ramaphosa clarified that he had never pledged to build one million houses specifically for Alexandra.
Instead, the promise referred to a national target over five years, with other houses allocated for Stjwetla.
He explained that due to Alexandra's challenging topography, constructing one million houses in the area was impractical.
He added that the township could not accommodate a million houses.
"To the extent that it created this impression that I said a million houses for Alexandra, which objectively would not be possible anyway, because we just don't have the land there to build a million houses.
"And to the extent that it created that impression, yes, I will say I apologise for having made people believe that I meant for Alexandra.
"What I really meant was, yes, we would want to build a million houses for the whole country," Ramaphosa clarified.
Furthermore, Ramaphosa acknowledged that the national target of building one million houses was not achieved, with only 240,000 houses completed.
"There are many reasons why we failed to reach our target," he mentioned.
He further announced that 40,000 new homes would be constructed in Frankenwald and Linksfield to benefit the residents of Alexandra and Stjwetla.
Additionally, he highlighted the urgent need to relocate approximately 8,000 households currently residing within the floodplains of the Jukskei River.
To date, a few houses have been built in Alexandra and they are still in dire condition due to the flooding, according to residents.
Source - iol
