Beneficiaries still waiting for houses
It seems that the problem is caused by administrative issues.
A group of angry beneficiaries who were promised that they could move into their new houses at the Elijah Barayi mega housing project last year are still out in the cold.
Some 50 residents gathered at the blocks of houses where their new units are situated last week. All the housing units are complete, and municipal officials promised the residents in September last year that they would get the keys to their new houses within weeks.
“We have held four meetings with the municipality after we picketed at their building, but they tell a different story every time. An official from the provincial housing department even attended. The developer was also there,” one of the residents complained.
Last Monday, some beneficiaries were ready to take their housing units by force, but security and municipal officials stopped them.
“They told us we would get our houses but now we must continue paying expensive rent. We believed them when they said we could move in,” complained another beneficiary.
The group lamented that some of them are over 70 years old. One, Ms Marriam Matomane, is forced to stay in a dilapidated shack while her new house is empty.
Although the Merafong City Local Municipality’s marketing and communications manager, Mr Temba Fezani, did not answer questions about the matter, some beneficiaries say they have now heard that their problems stem from the municipality’s financial system that has been down since 31 December. No one can open accounts for them until it is working again.
