‘Temporal units’ anger residents

The Mamelodi temporal residents’ unit structures have caused outrage due to the pricing of each structure at R64 000.

The project is led by the housing development agency and the City of Tshwane and the 1 000 units were expected to reduce the numbers in Mamelodi hostels, which remain overcrowded.

This follows the 44-shack project in Tubatse, Limpopo, where each structure also cost R64 000. These were handed over to beneficiaries on 31 July.

The project was criticised by annoyed beneficiaries, residents and political formations. Mamelodi resident Apson Makaung said the anger among residents was due to the fact that many people with none or little income have been waiting for government to deliver quality and better housing for years.

“At the beginning, they were given the RDP [reconstruction and development project] houses. These shacks, however, are a serious insult to us.

“This is not even in line with the Kliptown resolution that says there shall be houses, security and comfort for all.”

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu had said in May building these structures was a much faster process than building normal houses.

“For this reason, government decided to build the temporal residents’ unit structures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“They are fast to build so you can have a place to live in quicker,” Sisulu said during an inspection of the structures.

The agency’s acting manager of communication and marketing, Katlego Moselakgomo, said the agency identified, acquired, prepared and developed suitable land for human settlements.

He said the structures would cater for a wide range of emergencies, including situations where people lived in dangerous environments that posed immediate threats to life, health and safety.

“The national department of human settlements, in consultation with the provinces and metropolitan municipalities, identified informal settlements and other areas considered to be overcrowded and residents were vulnerable to Covid-19.

“The temporal residents’ unit structures were, therefore, an integral part of the department’s de-densification programme.”

“The project should be completed by the end of September 2020 and eligible beneficiaries will be relocated soon thereafter.”

He said each structure in Mamelodi had a minimum lifespan of 15 years. “The preferred option for the provision of these structures is the supply of prefabricated units which could, after being used be dismantled, reassembled and stored for re-use.”

– Caxton News Service