Pensioner gets no help after hailstorm
He says all documentation was submitted, but he is still battling with a home in desperate need of repairs
84-year-old pensioner Mr Abdool Majid ‘Magic’ Khan is extremely upset with the municipality for not helping him fix his home in Meena Place after the hailstorm disaster of December 9, 2012. His damages include roof, gutters, window panes and doors.
Most people’s homes in the area have been fixed and some are still being sorted out, while Mr Khan says he is not receiving any help at all.
Mr Khan is blind in his right eye and has 18% vision in his left eye.
Last year, he approached a woman who resides in the area and whose name is known to the Ladysmith Gazette.
She has allegedly been seen going door-to-door with municipal workers to assess the damages.
He asked her why he hasn’t been helped yet and she evidently told him he was not in the system. Mr Khan was confused because when the hailstorm hit, he immediately went to the municipality and filled out all the relevant forms.
According to Mr Khan, the woman then requested his ID and Pension Card in order to add him onto the system. He says all documentation was submitted, but he is still battling with a home in desperate need of repairs.
Mr Khan claims he recently held a meeting with Mayor Vincent Madlala with regards to his problem.
He claims that, at the meeting, the mayor phoned a woman who said that workers would come at 3pm that day to assess his house… That did not happen and he is still waiting.
“I am a ratepayer and I pay all my bills. Why am I not getting any help? I am old, so at least make the elderly a priority in Ladysmith. It’s four years down the line and all I have received are empty promises,” laments Mr Khan.
The municipality’s housing section has confirmed that the woman alluded to in the article is not employed in their section. No such person is working on behalf of the municipality, they say.
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