City of Ekurhuleni denies locals permission to revamp Silwerkroon residence

At least eight flats in Silwerkroon are reported to have been vacant for months on end while many who desperately need to move in remain on waiting lists.

The City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) has since revealed that locals shall never be allowed to refurbish council-owned property.

This is after a distressed Amelia Bester demanded answers from the CoE on the placement of her father in one of the empty units in Silwerkroon. Bester, whose father has been living between places, said she is in a state of turmoil as she seeks rental accommodation at the residence.

However, she told the RECORD the CoE stressed that her father can only be allocated once refurbishments have been completed.

“My parents applied for a flat six years ago. A few weeks ago I went to inquire about a flat and an official told me my father was on top of the list. We then discovered that one of the flats eventually became vacant, but my father was still not placed since the place needed to be refurbished,” she said.

Out of goodwill, Bester said she then offered to have the flat painted and renovated in order to have her father placed but was still denied permission.

“I know that there are people who were allowed to paint the flats and were given permission to move in; there are double standards. If I’m able to provide paint and am in possession of resources, why am I not allowed to invest in this? I know that there are seven empty single flats, one at least for almost a year, including my father’s,” said Bester.

She also said she had already arranged 20 litres of paint in order to refurbish the empty flat.

Intervention

Ward 106 councillor alderman Bruna Haipel, who decided to tackle the matter head on, had a different story to tell.
She stated she recently had a meeting with a CoE official and was told other people have written letters requesting to paint their flats.

“In our verbal meeting, the official said those who wrote letters of application to the City were granted permission to paint their flats. But now I don’t understand why the municipality shouldn’t allow people to refurbish these flats at their own costs,” she said.

Haipel said this has to be laid at the feet of the member of mayoral committee of human settlements and the executive mayor.

In a letter received by Haipel, the CoE stated refurbishments done by locals were not allowed. This is reportedly in violation of City processes and policy.

CoE’s response

Nhlanhla Cebekhulu, City’s spokesperson, confirmed to the RECORD that there are unoccupied units at Silwerkroon which need refurbishment before allocation.

“The vacant units are planned to be refurbished before end of January 2021. If the process goes according to plan, applicants on the waiting list will be allocated once the process is completed. Therefore, it must be noted that the units are not reserved,” he said.

Cebekhulu reiterated that locals shall never be allowed to work on council property.

“Allowing residents to do work on council property will set a bad precedent. It will mean that all applicants must be allowed to do it when such requests are received. This will create unnecessary confusion and possible litigation against the City, as this may be interpreted as the City abdicating its responsibility,” he said.