Hundreds of newly-built RDP houses in Extension 6 in Soshanguve South are lying empty, despite a huge housing shortage in the area. The houses were finished late last year following a construction period that spanned about three years.
Several of the RDP houses already have thick bushes growing around them. Notices have been placed on the doors and windows of all the houses warning against illegal occupation. Batlhokomedi Security and the Department of Housing are working together to prevent the illegal occupation of RDP houses, and have notified residents that the illegal occupation of an RDP house constitutes a criminal offence.
According to one of the security guards in the area, which is situated near Rosslyn industries, many of the houses remained unoccupied after the residents who illegally occupied them were removed earlier this year.
“There was violence this year, which was led by some angry residents. They accused the people allocating the houses of being corrupt and biased. They even fought with the people who already occupied the houses,” he said. Earlier this year, Record reported on the disgruntled residents who went amok and vandalised some of the houses.
The residents claimed that the allocation system was unfair and complained that several people who occupied the houses had paid the officials. The violent unrest spread across the area following a series of complaints about the lack of transparency in the allocation of RDP houses, and residents vandalised properties. Police had to be called to enforce calm.
Several residents who spoke to Record stated that they got the houses legally, while others were reluctant to offer their comment. One of the residents from the nearby area in Extension 5, Gladyse Makola, told Record she had been on the waiting list for more than ten years and the houses were allocated to the wrong people.
“I registered on the waiting list a very long time ago, and since then, I have never heard back from the leaders. They keep on promising us that the houses will be allocated to us, but now I don’t even know if my name is still on that list,” said Makola. She added that some weeks ago she was advised by one of the ward committee leaders to go to the Department of Housing in Soshanguve Block F to check the list. The allocation of houses in the much disputed area is currently controlled by the housing department.
“I lost any hope of getting a house. That’s why I don’t even want to talk about any chance of getting an RDP house here,” said Jeffrey Nale, who stays in a shack near Extension 6. Lesly Maphanga, one of the occupants of the houses in the area, said he was allocated an RDP house by the Department of Housing. “I was on the waiting list, and I got the house. We saw some of the residents being removed after they occupied the houses illegally,” he commented.
Maphanga added that residents in the area lived in fear after the previous unrest. “Many people lost their properties and others even fled to stay in other areas because of that fight,” he said.
A Ward 37 committee member in Soshanguve told Record that the issue of allocating the houses was out of their hands. He agreed only to be identified as Bernard. He said that since the house of Councillor Maribishi Marotola was burnt late last year, the issue of RDP houses in the area had been controlled by the Housing Department.
“We are no longer in charge of that. If you want a viable comment, go to the housing department in Soshanguve,” he said. One of the officials at the Department of Housing referred Record to the department’s spokesperson. Councillor Marotola declined to comment on anything related to housing in the area and referred Record to Benard. The housing department in Soshanguve had not responded to our request for comment at the time of going to press.
