Durban - While some residents of Lamontville township have been waiting for years to have a roof over their heads, several houses, built as part of a housing project, remain unoccupied.
According to residents in the area and a former councillor, the 30-unit housing project was supposed to be occupied by residents of the Mthembu area in Lamontville.
However, after the completion of the project the houses have remained vacant.
According to former ward 69 councillor Ganas Govender, the houses were completed in 2019 and the registered 30 residents who live in the nearby informal settlement were supposed to take occupation.
Govender served as the ward councillor from 2016 until the 2021 elections, and said he oversaw the registration of the 30 people in 2017.
“Everything in those houses was done. They were even given house numbers and they were only waiting for keys and the municipality failed them.
“We even told the residents that the houses were ready and they would go in, they were supposed to occupy the houses at the beginning of 2020 before the Covid-19 outbreak,” said Govender.
He said things fell apart when a new councillor took over, adding that he then learnt that the houses had been allocated to other beneficiaries.
“I was very surprised to hear that other people were to occupy the houses.
“The dispute is between the beneficiaries and government, but there should not be any beneficiary dispute because there is a list of beneficiaries.
“It was endorsed by the municipality and now over one-and-a-half years later, the municipality is paying for security (to guard the houses),” added Govender.
Resident Musa Dladla, who has lived in a shack since 2010, said he was registered as a beneficiary and when the houses were completed in 2019 he had high hopes that his days as a shack dweller were over.
“This situation around these houses is sad for all of us here in Gambushe,
we do not like what we are going through.
“It has been a very painful period living in a shack while you see that your house is ready for occupation.
“When it rains, we get flooded. We always mop our shacks while the houses are there and now they are even vandalised.
“This should be sorted out because it has been a long time,” said Dladla.
Another resident, Precious Ndimande, who has been at the forefront of the fight for the houses, said she had to step back when she realised that her hard work was not yielding the desired outcome.
“We do not know why the municipality tip-toed when they had to allocate us our registered houses.
“This is sad because now I have even lost the energy to talk about this.
“After all, it seems like our voices are not heard,” Ndimande said.
Municipal spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said a meeting would be held with the contractor and project manager about the houses this week.
“When these houses were allocated, there was a community dispute about the legitimacy of beneficiaries.
“This resulted in the families being chased out and houses being vandalised last year.
“The beneficiary issues have since been resolved after a lengthy community engagement.
“The contractor has been advised to return to the site and rectify the damage to make houses habitable for occupation.
“They submitted quotations towards the end of last year.
“As the construction sector opens, they will be on-site to rectify these units for allocation.
“There is a dedicated project manager with his professional team, including the contractor, and an opening meeting of the year is scheduled for this week,” said Mayisela.