Residents of Ruskamers in Bethal have nowhere to go
Dr Van Zyl claims the residents eventually just refused to pay rent and he then decided to terminate his contract and to stop his involvement at the Ruskamers.
BETHAL – The residents at the Transnet Properties, also known as Ruskamers, said they are still waiting to hear about their fate at their current residence.
The Ridge Times reported last week of the residents who received a letter of notice to vacate the premises.
According to residents, they used to pay rent to Dr Christi van Zyl, previously of the NG Kerk Oos in Bethal.
The Ridge Times spoke to Dr Van Zyl (who has since left Bethal) last week.
According to Dr Van Zyl, he previously had a contract agreement with Transnet Properties to collect the rent from the residents and then deposit the money into the Standard Bank account of Transnet Properties.
He claims the residents eventually just refused to pay rent and he then decided to terminate his contract and to end his involvement at the Ruskamers.
“They have no leg to stand on. We have proof of all the money that was received from the residents and paid over to Transnet,” said Dr Van Zyl.
He said from the beginning of 2020 the residents have not been paying and that he had pulled out of the contract agreement in July last year.
Dr Van Zyl said the decision to take over the Ruskamers between 2010 and 2011 was to curb the drugs, prostitution and criminal activities happening there at the time.
“We took over at the time to control the unwanted activity taking place. It went off well for a few years until they refused to pay,” said Dr Van Zyl.
The Ridge Times spoke to residents again who said they refused to pay when Dr Van Zyl wanted to put up their rent because they could not afford the increase.
According to the residents, from the time of the previous publication, no one from Transnet has contacted them or made any attempt to see them so that they can come to some form of an agreement.
“I can’t go anywhere, I have nowhere to go,” said a resident.
“Our rent kept on going up. At a time it went up three times in one year.
“No maintenance gets done here. Everything that needs fixing or replacing, we do it at our own cost or through donations,” said the resident.
The resident said that when they would ask for maintenance to be done, it falls on deaf ears or there would always be excuses.
“How can they expect to put up our rent but we are still living in these conditions. Taps shock us when we open them,” said the resident.
One of the residents told the Ridge Times that she gets as little as R1 800 disability grant and paid R1 300 for her living quarters.
Social media has since been abuzz with comments regarding the residents who need to vacate the premises.
The public said that it is inhumane to evict the residents, especially in a pandemic.
