For years, some families in Alexandra have held on to C-forms, slips of paper issued as far back as 1996, serving as proof of their registration for government housing.

While the forms confirmed the applicants’ spot on the provincial waiting list for houses, to date, some holders of C-forms haven’t received any Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) house.

Read more: Tensions flare over RDP housing in Alex 

Now, Umphakathi Warona organisation, led by Thabang Moloi, is uniting residents across Johannesburg, including in Alexandra, Soweto, Cosmo City, and Orange Farm, to fight to realise the government’s promise of RDP houses.

During a meeting in Alex on February 9, Moloi said that they will wait no longer. He revealed their intentions to lead a march to confront the government and demand subsidised homes for citizens who had applied years ago.

“Everyone who wants a house, we are going to come together from Soweto, Alexandra, Cosmo, and Orange Farm. We are going to make one big march to tell the government that we don’t want anything else, we want our houses.”

Since launching efforts in Soweto in November, the group said it has helped 17 people secure their RDP homes. Moloi emphasised that it is this victory that has fuelled the belief that unified community action can finally see people receive RDP houses.

@caxtonjoburgnorth Watch: Umphakathi Warona leader, Thabang Moloi, calls on Alexandra residents to unite in their fight for Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses. #Alex #rdp #freehousing ♬ original sound – Caxton Joburg North

“If we unite, more especially in Johannesburg, that means we can get this. If we unite as South Africans, plead with God, fight for our houses and then fight for jobs, that is what will be fit for us South Africans.”

Also read: RDP housing tensions rise

Moloi said in their memorandum to authorities, they will call for a full audit of housing allocations to root out irregularities, including cases where homes meant for long-standing applicants have allegedly gone to others.

Kim Baloyi, another member of Umphakathi Warona, expressed concern about people who have carried their applications since 1996, classified as priority cases, yet still living in shacks and overcrowded conditions.

She said what finally pushed the group to act was witnessing events in Diepsloot last October, where RDP homes appeared to be handed out to newcomers in shacks, bypassing those who had waited longest.

“That was when we took a stand. It became apparent that those whose need for houses dates back to 1996 would not get houses.”
She began collecting C-forms in Soweto in November last year, building a database of claimants to strengthen their case.

The organisation plans to return to Alexandra on February 14, to gather more C-forms from Alex residents, with the hope of igniting a province-wide, even nationwide, movement that will finally see South African citizens getting RDPs they have been waiting for.

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