Tshwane informal settlements have more than doubled. Fixing them would cost R32.5 billion

Tshwane informal settlements are back in the spotlight, with local elections just weeks away.

In Plastic View, more than 10,000 people live with sewage flowing through their community.

Some residents say they’re tired of waiting for promises to be kept.

And the City’s own figures show just how big the challenge has become.

The number of informal settlements in the City of Tshwane has grown from 220 to 502.

LIFE IN PLASTIC VIEW

In the Plastic View informal settlement in Pretoria East, more than 10,000 people live in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, with sewage flowing through the community from broken pipes.

Resident Humbulani Thobo, who has lived there since 2009, accused the city of making empty promises about relocating residents, EWN reported on Tuesday, 20 October.

The city provides water tankers and ablution facilities, but concerns about living conditions remain.

AN ELECTION ISSUE

The issue is in the spotlight ahead of the 4 November local government elections, when Tshwane residents will vote for their next council.

WHAT TSHWANE INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS COST

The city spends about R1.5 billion a year providing services such as water tankers and toilets to informal settlements.

Upgrading or relocating all of them would cost an estimated R32.5 billion, more than 20 times that, according to Tshwane’s mayoral committee member for human settlements, Aaron Maluleka.

He said that figure far exceeds the city’s current budget and available resources.

WHAT THE CITY IS DOING

In February, the Tshwane council approved an Informal Settlements Management Policy.

It sets out a framework for regulating, preventing, upgrading and, where necessary, relocating informal settlements, within the city’s budget constraints.

The city has also said it wants to explore other ways to deliver services, such as metering electricity in informal settlements and improving sanitation beyond water tankers.

WHY HAVE TSHWANE INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS GROWN SO FAST?

Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya has linked the growth to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“There used to be 220 informal settlements in the city but after Covid, that number grew up to 502,” Moya said in 2025.

During the pandemic, a moratorium on evictions barred the forced removal of people unlawfully occupying land, which allowed settlements to expand rapidly.

The city has also pointed to people moving to Tshwane from other towns and villages in search of work.