RDP houses changing the lives of farm tenants
“GOGO” Mable Ndlovu was overjoyed when she received the keys to her RDP house with other beneficiaries on Willowdale Farm in Kokstad yesterday.
Ndlovu, 74, a farmworker, has been living on the same farm for over 50 years, with her husband Khehle and children. Her “farmhouse” was in a deplorable condition and often flooded when it rained.
“We are grateful to the generosity of the government and the farmer for the decent new home, fitted with electricity and water. The other house had none of these resources. We used to cook outside with woodfire,” said Ndlovu.
Another beneficiary, Slindile Mabusela, 23, was born on the farm. She said her modern home was a dream come true for her family. Her parents died without having proper shelter, but now she is able to raise her 3-year-old daughter in a decent house.
“We have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time. The other house had been covered with dampness on the walls. Our clothes and groceries often got rotten before time. We used candles at night when we had no electricity, but that has now changed,” she said.
The owner of Willowdale Farm, Max Bastard, who contributed hectares of land to build houses for workers, said there were many good white farmers looking after farm tenants and workers.
Bastard said the project was started by his late father in 2002. He said the housing project was built on about 1000 hectares of land sold to the department.
Bastard said not all white farmers were racist, and there were positive stories on the farms.
“We are extremely happy to be part of this project. Beneficiaries will get quality houses with ablutions and other facilities. There had been some hiccups, but we managed to overcome them,” said Bastard.
Speaking during the handover of the R12.3million housing project to 83 beneficiaries, Kwazulu-natal MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works Jomo Sibiya said the prevailing land tension on farms was distasteful and uncalled for.
Sibiya said the Willowdale Farm owner was an exemplary and model farmer. He said he hoped more farmers in the province could emulate his deed so that there could be harmony in the countryside between farmhands and farm owners.
Sibiya said it was unfortunate that farmers were killed in Normandien, Newcastle and Winterton recently. He also condemned the farm owner who demolished a worker’s house in Gluckstadt, outside Vryheid, last month.