City Human Settlements’ Portfolio Committee chairperson visits Monwood Informal Settlement upgrade

01 September 2025

The chairperson of the City’s Human Settlements’ Portfolio Committee, Councillor Albert Ntsodo and officials in the Human Settlements Directorate visited the Philippi Monwood informal settlement upgrade to have a look at efforts to provide improved living conditions for residents in the area.

‘We recently conducted an oversight visit to the Monwood informal settlement in Philippi to have a closer look at the upgrade work. The visit also formed part of the City and Portfolio Committee’s commitment to ensuring that residents are kept informed about the progress of the project.

‘The Monwood informal settlement is home to more than 2 400 households, divided between the Siyahlala and Siyanyanzela communities. The City, as landowner, initiated the upgrade through a phased and incremental approach to enable infrastructure installation and to improve access within the area.

‘Vandalism of infrastructure in the area remains a challenge and we’d like to appeal to residents to stand with us so that we ensure the long-term success of the project. Vandalism damages our progress, wastes valuable resources and also delays much needed improvements in the area. The project’s focus is to improve the living conditions of residents by providing safer and more accessible services.

‘We are committed to engaging with residents throughout the process ,and we will continue to communicate with residents. The Human Settlement Portfolio Committee extends its sincere gratitude to communities for working with the City ,and we thank all involved in ensuring the success of the Monwood upgrade project,’ said Councillor Ntsodo.