Long, dangerous wait for house over for woman
“The first thing I did when I entered this house was to pray and thank God for this blessing,” said wheelchair-bound Nontuthuzelo Mqokozo from Cambridge informal settlement at the weekend.
On Saturday she finally received a new house from the department of human settlements whose national minister, Nomaindia Mfeketo, presided over the handover.
Mqokoza had waited nine years, living in a shack in the bush with nowhere to charge her wheelchair’s battery.
The 45-year-old was diagnosed with polio in 1980 and relies on her 26-year old daughter and eight-year-old grandchild for assistance. The family lived in fear of snakes and illegal electricity connections as they had no formal electricity.
“Life was hard in the old shack. There were snakes that always came inside our shack. We used to be very scared when that happened and it became hard to fall asleep.
“We used to relieve ourselves in a bucket.”
Mqokozo first applied for a house in 2010 and then endured years of delays.
“I have finally received the house I had been dreaming of. I am happy here. It has taken a very long time to get this house, I even thought of giving up but I knew I would one day have my own house.”
The two-bedroom 45m² house has a lounge, a kitchen, and a ramp for the wheelchair.
“Life in the shack became worse when there was no electricity. The issue of illegal electricity connections also made it hard for me so I ended up having to charge my wheelchair at the local abattoir.
“But they told me that the cows could pose a danger to me so I ended up going to a welfare organisation. I could only go there in the morning and had to stay for hours charging the wheelchair. I have electricity now, I can charge my wheelchair whenever I want.”
The handover was attended by human settlements minister Mfeketo, several BCM councillors and Eastern Cape human settlements MEC Babalo Madikizela.
Mfeketo said the home was built through the destitute and vulnerable groups programme. “This case was received by the department some time back, however because we had been experiencing challenges with our service provider, Nonthuthuzelo was left destitute for longer than she should have been.
“This case should be used as an example to all our contractors to understand the need for urgency when they build houses. When the case came to our office through the MEC, an urgent intervention was made.”