The City Times previously reported that the situation among residents has been so severe that the elderly are reported to be dying of stress.
In 2012, the EMM launched the Regularisation and Transfer of Houses (Retro) Programme, which is aimed at regularising occupancy of council-owned houses.
Residents of council housing stock in Farrarmere Gardens Extension 54 were also invited to participate in the programme.
They said the EMM promised them that, in terms of the programme, it would take up to six months for them to get the title deeds of the properties they are currently occupying.
It is now two years later, and residents have never had any feedback on their applications.
The metro were contacted and claimed that the delay in issuing the title deeds is due to “the fact that the stands had to be subdivided and the conditions of the subdivision complied with”.
The residents, however, have come back to dispute this, saying the story about the meters and stands are not true.
They say there are house owners who have been issued with title deeds, irrespective of the properties being submerged.
They cited houses number one and three in Louise Street as examples.
Resident Tanya Koen said the metro is only doing damage control with its response.
“They have been stretching this business out for many years, and now that the truth is coming out, they throw around reasonable excuses to calm every one down and cover up the mess that they have made of this situation, said Koen.
She added that there are people who own their houses in Farrarmere Gardens and that “it was all done very quietly when the properties where transferred from the Johannesburg offices to Ekurhuleni and we only found out about this much later”.
“My question is: if the claims of the municipality are true – that they need to separate sewerage lines and so forth – why was this not a issue with the houses that were transferred then?”Koen asked.
“Also, this may be a dumb question, but why is this necessary, because we are already being billed individually and we are also charged for the sewerage service on our utility bills?”
Koen also refuted claims of money being spent by the metro to refurbish the houses, calling it “absolute nonsense”.
“None of the houses have been maintained for years.
“I personally painted my own house in 2007, because of its bad condition and we had lived in that house for 16 years by then,” said Koen.
She said the only work that was done was in 2012, when they installed solar panelled geysers, and then in March and May, this year, when they installed new power cables and electricity meters.
“I just mention that no connections have been made since that time and we are currently still running on our old prepaid meters – which, in fact, are working fine – despite their claims that the units are faulty,” added Koen.
Another resident, Driena van Wyngaarden (77), questioned whether the housing department is waiting for old people to die before issuing title deeds, so that the new applicants could be moved to the new market rentals – something many resident are convinced is the main reason for the delay.
She said that, during 1998 and 1999, she wrote letters to then President Nelson Mandela, who wrote back and assured her that they were going to get title deeds.
“In February 2002 and July 2002 we got title deeds, but only 29 of us did,” she said.
The Ekurhuleni Metro said the the GIS information and the approved township layout plan indicate that houses number one and three in Louise Street were transferred because each of the semi-detached units is on an individual stands. (See a copy of the township layout plan and aerial photograph).
“The other semi-detached units cannot be transferred because they share the same stand, as per the current township layout,” said metro spokesman Themba Gadebe.
We further asked why the separation is necessary, as residents are already being billed individually for electricity and sewerage services on their utility bills
Radebe said the human settlements department’s response is based on the special mayoral committee resolution that approved the subdivision and the rezoning of the affected erven, subject to the following conditions:
n That the affected erven will be obliged to have separate water and sewer connections to be in-line with council’s Township Establishment Policy; and
n That in order to provide water and sewer connections for the above-mentioned erven, the applicant will be required to appoint a professional engineer to design and supervise the installation of all sewer pipe extensions to the affected erven.
Radebe added: “The separation of the water and sewer connections is necessary and required to avoid conflict in cases where the common and shared sewer pipes get damaged or blocked and it will be difficult to decide which family that will be responsible for the repairs.”
