Finally, a proper house to call home at the age of 100
Ntabankulu grandfather and centenarian Mthezelwa Kafu cannot see what his new house looks like as he is now blind — but he could not contain his excitement when the keys to his own furnished RDP house were handed to him on Thursday.
Human settlements MEC Siphokazi Lusithi drove into remote Mkhomazi village to hand the 100-year-old his new keys.
Kafu told Lusithi how happy he was to finally have a proper house to call his home after having lived in a rundown mud rondavel for many years.
“I am so grateful because sometimes government processes tend to move very slowly.”
In his younger days he did odd jobs in Durban and later came home and worked as a carpenter, selling coffins, tables and other furniture to locals.
But earlier this year, he found himself homeless after his mud rondavel was destroyed by heavy storms which swept across Ntabankulu.
Apart from Kafu, Lusithi handed over keys to 14 other beneficiaries of RDP houses within Ntabankulu as part of a provincial government project to assist disaster-hit communities.
At least 147 RDP housing units are being constructed in three municipal wards within the Alfred Nzo district, where Ntabankulu is, at a cost of R25m.
The homes of 147 families were destroyed.
So far, 81 of the 147 have been completed.
Kafu’s only surviving daughter, Nozuko Kafu, 65, told the Dispatch she’d had sleepless nights worrying that the old and dilapidated rondavel would one day collapse and kill her father.
“The rondavel used to leak when it rained heavily, and the walls had huge cracks.
“We were always scared that one day it would fall on top of him.”
Kafu had five children but only Nozuko, a pensioner herself, is still alive.
Nozuko’s mother died in 2020.
Nozuko said her father’s dream had been for the government to build him a proper house.
“He is old now. When he was younger he was able to build himself a home with his own two hands. But now he is old and cannot see. And he doesn’t have the energy to do many things any more.”
The new house came fully furnished, and was fitted with a Jojo tank which would help them harvest rainwater.
Asked by the Dispatch how the government could further assist her family, she said: “There are many people who need help from the government. We have a house and we have a water tank.
“Why would I demand more things from them after such a beautiful gesture?”
The provincial human settlements department revealed that other disaster-hit areas included the OR Tambo, Chris Hani and Amathole districts.
Lusithi, meanwhile, said as departments, they had been instructed to be closer to the communities they assisted.
“We have to go to where people stay in these communities.
“We are not just looking at bricks and ensuring that the houses are built, but our responsibility as government extends towards ensuring that the beneficiaries are able to stay in these houses in a safe environment.
“We have to ensure that they are able to access other basic services like electricity.”