Residents plead for RDP houses
THIRTY-NINE families resident in Emdakeni near Whittlesea have called for the building of their long-awaited RDP homes.
The families were moved to temporary shelters in 2010 when heavy rains in the area destroyed their homes in the informal settlement built in the 1970s. The settlement included people who moved from Transkei for political reasons.
The area is poverty-stricken with a high unemployment rate, particularly among the youth.
Each temporary structure houses between four and nine people.
Residents share six communal pit toilets with the lack of locks on the toilets posing a potential hazard to the children.
Resident Nobekaphi Qan- da said the residents were told in 2010 that the structures would be their homes for six months until new houses could be built.
“We have now been staying here for five years and nothing has happened. Instead we are forced to share a single tap with other locals. We are also not safe here, especially during the night. This place does not have street lights and burglaries are common.”
Most people complain about the non-availability of houses and basic services to the general public.
Another local, Sindiswa Tyirha, claimed Lukhanji ward councillor Khangelwa Manzana indicated last year that houses would be built but nothing had happened yet.
The area was prone to flooding, she added.
Manzana said it would be difficult for her to know when the houses would be built and that she could not be expected to provide all the answers.
DA party representative in the area Malibongwe Xelisilo said the residents should have had houses a long time ago.
“The problem is that some leaders become more accountable to their political parties than to the people.”
The area of disaster services falls under Chris Hani District Municipality. A query was sent but no response had been received at the time of going to press.