Housing issue ends in fighting

POLICE had to intervene after punches were thrown and chairs flung during a meeting at Boys Town informal settlement, Nyanga, by residents contesting the legitimacy of a beneficiary list.

The fight started after Project Steering Committee (PSC) members, who are tasked with overseeing the project, were accused of manipulating the beneficiary list by adding friends, families and people not residing in the area.

Human Settlements MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela addressed items on the agenda, which included families that were refusing to move to newly built houses, saying they wanted their children to benefit first. Others claimed the houses were too small and PSC members argued that they cannot move to the houses while many were still living in shacks.

Madikizela called for the co-operation of the community to make sure the project was completed and urged beneficiaries to move into the houses so the next phase of development could start.

After the meeting people became rowdy and clashed with the PSC members and called for its disbandment.

Concerned residents tried to call for calm but the situation escalated and fighting broke out.

Vuyuyiswa Godana said she would not move into the house she was allocated “until my children get their own houses”.

She said her son, Lusindiso Godana, was on the beneficiary list, but never got a house. He died before he could get the house. “The house is small and I have a huge family. Where are they expected to live if I move into that tiny house?” she asked.

Faniswa Tame said as a PSC member she was expected to be the last to move into a house. “I can’t move and leave others still living in shacks.”

As the fight continued in the background, Madikizela said: “What is concerning is that the current PSC is dysfunctional.”