EKURHULENI Metropolitan Municipality refuted allegations that some RDP houses were occupied by unauthorised residents.
Several residents from Winnie Mandela Informal Settlement in Tembisa claimed their RDP houses were complete but other people who were not allocated houses, occupied the houses built.
The residents claimed their houses were approved in 2000 and 2001 in Esselen Park, Tswelopele extension and Winnie Mandela. They accused the municipality of being unfair when allocating people houses.
The residents also said the people who occupied their houses did not have Housing Subsidy System (HSS) forms. They occupied the houses with a hand-written letter with the municipality’s stamp on it. According to the residents, the hand written letters are called happy letters.
A metro spokesman said the allegations were false. The procedure of allocating people houses was fair, as the allocations were done on registrations made in 1996 and 1997.
“The allocations were done properly per ward, together with the ward committees and CLOs from each ward.”
When asked if the residents allocated the houses had HSS numbers, or if they were relevant beneficiaries, the spokesman said when a subsidy application form was captured on the HSS, it was allocated a number which acted as a reference number for that particular person and their relevant beneficiaries.
For a person to be allocated a subsidised house, the beneficiary should be a first time owner. The prospective owner should also never have had any property registered in his or her name.
Relevant beneficiaries are South African citizens with a green bar-coded ID, married or cohabitation, have financial dependants residing with the applicant, permanent residents of the country and an income of not more than R3 500 a month.
