Residents protest for houses
Bus station destroyed and roads blocked in anger
Teboho Nthoba and his parents hoped their living conditions would improve after they were promised an RDP house in Fleurhof, west of Johannesburg.
But more than a year after the promises were made‚ they still live in a corrugated iron shack in nearby Zamimpilo township where a protest over housing saw major roads blocked yesterday.
A Rea Vaya bus station was destroyed by residents who were demanding that the member of mayoral committee (MMC) for housing‚ Mzobanzi Ntuli‚ address their concerns.
Nthoba‚ 21‚ and his parents lost almost all of their possessions during a blaze in the township last week‚ which destroyed around 40 shacks.
“It’s tough. We lost everything. Even my school reports were burnt. I only have my ID left‚” he said.
Conditions in Zamimpilo are tough, with the community sharing communal taps and toilets. Nthoba said the fire was started last week after a group of men stabbed another man and set his shack on fire following an argument.
His mother‚ Theresa‚ said she believed the blaze that destroyed the shacks could have been avoided if they were moved when the promises were made to them.
“All I have left is my ID book. So we can’t even get an affidavit from the police station because they say that they have no track record of how long I’ve lived here‚” she said.
“This means that my house is gone. A house I had registered for since last year.”
Community members yesterday morning blocked roads, including Commando Road and Main Reef Road, after numerous requests to the City of Johannesburg for an update about what was happening with the allocation of RDPs.
Nomsa Kayise‚ a local community leader‚ said the city had promised to move them to RDP houses which would have drastically improved their living conditions.
“It’s been more than a year and nothing has happened. We’ve written letters‚ sent e-mails and SMSes and still the MMC [for housing] hasn’t come to see us‚” she said.
“They allocated 400 units for people to move to‚ but so far only 112 have moved.”
Basil Douglas‚ the ward councillor for the area‚ said he had requested Ntuli to come and address the community.
“He doesn’t answer his phone. He doesn’t take responsibility‚” Douglas said.
He said a representative from the MMC’s office came to speak to him yesterday morning but left after feeling intimidated.
Buntukazi Xuba‚ spokeswoman for Ntuli‚ said: “The MMC was delayed in receiving the allocation list from the region’s officials. As such, the MMC didn’t want to ... allocate [houses to] beneficiaries without the list as the new administration wants the allocation process to be transparent.
“The MMC is now in receipt of the allocation list and he will meet with the Zamimpilo leadership later today (yesterday) and together they will craft a way forward‚” she said.
Metro police’s Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar said the JMPD had cleared the blocked routes.