Lusikisiki housing project confirmed

Ingquza Hill municipal bosses have vowed that the project to construct middle income houses in Lusikisiki will forge ahead, despite threats from a group of residents who were rendered homeless when bulldozers were sent to demolish their homes in New Rest in 2016.

Speaking to the Dispatch on Friday, municipal spokesperson Zamuxolo Matwasa claimed the imminent project had nothing to do with New Rest residents.

“The matter of who demolished those houses or why they were demolished is an issue that is still before the court.

“After the houses were demolished, we provided temporary structures because we are the local government and, not as an admission of guilt.

“The court order that was handed down said we were to erect temporary structures. Nowhere in that order does it say we must build permanent structures,” he said.

In October 2016, 37 houses were demolished and 150 people left homeless.

The families then took the municipality to court, challenging the legality of the demolishing of their homes.

Temporary structures were subsequently built for the families on the same land where their houses once stood.

Matwasa said the municipality was a law abiding institution that was willing to engage with the community.

“At this stage we are still looking for a developer and we are not saying the building will start tomorrow.

“We will go to the people and to the chief. Development in Ingquza Hill will happen.

“We must also add that we have noticed that likhona inyawo lemfene [a third force] is trying to tarnish the name of the mayor, Pat Mdingi.

“He was wrongfully arrested for contempt of court when he was not in contempt. However, he will pursue that in his personal capacity,” Matwasa said.

Mdingi spent a weekend in jail earlier in 2018 for contempt of court after the municipality had still not built the temporary structures.

The disagreement comes after the municipality called on developers to bid for the planned 110 houses, which are to be built about 1km away from the new police station.

On Thursday, New Rest residents said if the municipality wanted its planned middle income housing project to be realised, it should first build them homes, as ordered by the court.