POLOKWANE – The effort by the Polokwane Municipality and the Polokwane Housing Association (PHA) to normalise rent collection and ensure rightful tenants occupy Ga-Rena Village, has once again angered tenants at this housing village. Last Tuesday, police officials removed several tyres from the village, thought to have been gathered for planned protests. According to Maj Genl Joseph Maepa, tenants were angered when their water and electricity supply was disconnected. The municipality, as from the beginning of March started to disconnect the supply as a result of non-payment of services. A report tabled before Council at the end of March by the CEO for the PHA, Shimmi Maimela, shows that for the period July to December 2014, a total of 59,7% of billing was collected. The average collection for the first semester was 59,76% as opposed to 71,54% in the previous financial year.
The lease agreements of 103 tenants were terminated, while only 13 vacated their units. The remaining ones have been handed over for eviction. The target is to collect 82% of rent by the end of this financial year. This is to be achieved through planned evictions from February to June 2015. Court orders for evictions have been secured. According to Maimela the Polokwane mayor, Thembi Nkadimeng has engaged with the tenants committee on several occasions between December and March and the meetings agreed on several commitments, including the payment of services and rental. The original cut-off date was extended from December to January, but only a handful of tenants responded to make arrangements and payments. The municipality had to continue disconnecting services as a result.
“The mayor has also made a commitment to pursue the rent-to-buy option and the process for market value determination has been conducted and presented to the tenants,” Maimela said
According to Maimela, 98 tenants’ electricity supply was disconnected, of which 37 have since been reconnected after arrangements had been made regarding payment.
“The majority of the tenants are more than welcome to do the same and we are willing to make arrangements with them,” he said. A total of 13 vacated their units voluntarily after their leases were terminated. The balance is being vacated in line with Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act.
Units in Ga Rena were built for people earning between R3 500 and R7 500 per month.
Tenants currently owe R9 million for water and electricity and the rental arrears stand at R14 million. “This debt book is from inception up to date. The bulk of it was accumulated during the rental boycott which happened between 2008 and 2011,” Maimela said.
Maimela said the option to buy is proving to be a challenge. “The condition to buy is that their rent must be pad up. Residents expect to be given the units for free.”
Further issues, he said, included the fact that tenants did not want to pay for rent and water, they approach the media instead of the PHA with complaints, and they expect water bills to be written off. Meanwhile, the DA wrote to Coghsta MEC Makoma Makhurupetje, urging her to intervene and ensure that there is stability at Ga Rena Village as soon as possible and to dissolve Polokwane Housing Association Board due to its alleged failure to resolve long standing problems between the residents and the municipal entity.
