ANC councillor helps Zonkezizwe family rebuild their home
They started with a cleaning campaign followed by plaining and contributions towards this initiative.
Ward 61 Clr Somahhashi Ngubani and GEPT Business Forum joined hands to help the Mthethwa family renovate their home after it was set alight, at Zonkezizwe, on February 12.
Bongani Mthethwa (37) told Kathorus MAIL the house was burned down by one of his tenants.
He said it is difficult for him to explain what had happened, but the motive was revenge.
“A close friend of mine had a fight with a tenant and he stabbed the tenant during the fight.
“The tenant reported the case but my friend ran away to hide from the police, I also do not know where he went. The tenant burned down the house to avenge himself,” said Mthethwa.
He said he lived with his brother and two girls in the house before it was burned.
“This has badly affected us. I lost everything to the fire and the worst part is that I lost my job, so basically I lost everything including furniture that I bought while I was employed,” he said.
On July 18, the councillor’s office, GEPT Business Forum, Zone 10 councillors, the Parliamentary Constituency Office and the Community Works Programme spent the day at Zonkizizwe assisting with repairs of the house.
According to Ngubani, the house was beyond repair. “This house was built years ago and the person who built it has died.
“Because there are children who stay at the house, I decided to seek assistance to fix the house from GEPT,” said Ngubani.
He said they started with a cleaning campaign followed by painting and contribution towards this initiative.
“As it is Mandela Day today we decide to come here to plaster, install the roof and paint. We will bonus the family with a kitchen unit and electricity,” he said.
Ngubani said according to his estimation they have already spent R400 000. He said the roofing and installing the electricity will be the most expensive.
Deputy secretary of GEPT Xola Ngxatu said the situation was devastating for the family.
“We were asked to contribute something and what we saw here was very devastating, this is something you would never wish to happen to anyone. The house was destroyed, you could not even see the furniture,” she added.
Ngxatu said GEPT loves giving back to the community.
“We had a similar project in Geen Field where they assisted a family to renovate their burnt house.”
