Anger over allocation of RDP houses

AN ATTEMPT by the City of Tshwane to relocate hundreds of Mooiplaas residents to new RDP houses was brought to a halt by angry residents of Olievenhoutbosch, near Centurion.

The irate residents blockaded the busy R55 Road with burning tyres and other objects yesterday, preventing traffic from flowing.

The burning issue was over 800 newly-built RDP houses in Olievenhoutbosch Extension 27 that were expected to be allocated to residents of Mooiplaas near Pretoria. Olievenhoutbosch residents said the houses were built for them and vowed blood would flow if they were allocated to residents of Mooiplaas.

Jemina Rabotswana, who has been on the housing waiting list since 2000, said the move by the municipality has angered them.

“I stay in Choba squatter camp near those new RDP houses. It can’t be that I live a few steps away from the houses and I am skipped. The municipality must see where they will take people of Mooiplaas, not here.

“We have no water, toilets and electricity, we rely on communal taps and toilets and yet we are overlooked, ” said Rabotswana.

Jacob Ledwaba, who is renting a back yard room with his wife and three children, is among those demanding houses.

SA National Civic Organisation chairman in Olievenhoutbosch, Kleinbooi Aphane, said the houses belonged to them and accused the city of causing conflicts between them and residents of Mooiplaas.

Aphane said the houses were built for people of informal settlements, back yard dwellers and those who had been on the housing waiting list since 1996.

“We agreed with the city earlier that they will be the first beneficiaries. We demand that the municipality move residents of Mooiplaas to a piece of land that they had promised to buy for them during the state of the city address. We demand the relocation of houses to stop with immediate effect.

“We don’t want blood to be spilled over those houses. We demand (President) Jacob Zuma to come and address us because our mayor [Kgosientso Ramokgopa] want us to spill blood,” said Aphane.

Member of mayoral committee for community safety Terrence Mashego who accepted the residents' memorandum promised that they would attend to their demands. Mashego said relocation of the houses could have started much earlier.

“We believe in negotiations and will speak to the mayor and the executive about this,” said Mashego.