Poor people not considered
“Those who cannot afford rentals are considered for low cost housing only if they meet the set criteria.
eMZINONI – More than two families are living in about 15 houses in Freedom Square and share the same bathroom and kitchen.
These houses are in bad condition and are not very hygienic.
Near those houses the government has built high class flats which are completed and ready for people to live in.
“The poor people in those houses are not even considered first for the new flats,” Mr Daniel Foyoyo Maseko, community operations manager, said.
According to Mr Maseko corruption is the order of the day, because thee flats are being rent out for extra profit and those in power have no interest in helping the people.
A meeting was held with the mayor on 10 April and she said there is secure land in Extension 5 for people who qualify for RDP houses.
“The municipal manager should have contacted me on 10 April after the meeting and to date I have not received any call and again empty promises were made,” Mr Maseko said.
He said the municipality wants to evict those people to build more flats and are using old eviction orders.
Mr Maseko said the people living in the RDP houses are active ANC candidates.
“Why is there a law for private owners, but not for the municipality?
“I am going to approach the Human Rights Commission to help me with this matter,” he said.
“It has been two weeks since the mayor had made promises on record and she must keep those promises by doing something.”
Mr Henry Masango, Marketing and Communications Manager of the Govan Mbeki Municipality, said a person should first meet the set criteria to qualify for a low cost house before it is being built and allocated as per the housing act.
“It is therefore not an automatic process which happens on impulse and these flats have been built as part of social housing (not low cost housing), wherein tenants earning an X amount of money are renting them, so as to be closer to their places of employment.
“Those who cannot afford rentals are then considered for low cost housing only if they meet the set criteria.
“Council decided to get rid of its own upmarket houses which were a financial burden, and also not being the core business of the municipality,”Mr Masango said
