GRASKOP – Mr Kemmy Mashego, unit manager of Thaba Chweu Municipality (TCM), against whom allegations of nepotism were recently levelled regarding the Chinese Housing project, says, “I totally disagree.”
Numerous residents have expressed their dissatisfaction. In a previous report, an anonymous source stated that members of the housing committee, including Mr Mashego, and their relatives apparently benefited more from these houses than the unemployed community. The same source alleged that 16 beneficiaries were relatives of Mashego and another 12, that of other committee members.
Although numerous enquiries were sent to TCM’s communications department, Mashego says that none of them had reached him, and therefor his response was not required. He however said he was pleased to be given the opportunity to clarify the community’s concerns.
“I applied for these houses like anyone else. The council resolution stated that 60 per cent of working residents of Graskop were allowed to apply for them, without any criteria. I applied and basically you can’t say no to anyone due to the absence of any criteria. I simply applied according to the previous resolutions. As a divorcee, I am there as an individual, not with my family. I have a disabled son, who also went through all the procedures to live there. It has nothing to do with me.
“If anyone thinks that I still have relatives living in these houses, they must prove it, and if they seek clarification, I will give it to them. Communication is key in this community,” Mashego concluded.
Read the community’s initial claims here
