Mother of three needs shelter for her sons
She has reportedly seen people move into flat units illegally but does not want to take that route even though her name has been on the allocation list since 1997.
JOHANNESBURG SOUTH – Anastacia Smart has been waiting to be allocated to a municipal unit since 1997 and has reportedly seen youngsters illegally move into units in Bellavista for a while now.
The 36-year-old woman has been hoping to receive good news for such a long time and is desperate to find a place to stay for her three sons and her paralysed husband. Anastacia said the last time she inquired about the availability of units, she was told the committee is still allocating people who were on the 1996 list. “I have three boys. My husband suffered a stroke and lost his ability to use half of his body. As a result, I could no longer afford to keep up with the payments as we used to help each other. At the moment I can afford to pay for a cheaper unit if I can find it. All I want is to do things the right way and get a unit when my time comes,” said Anastacia.
Anastacia knows she still has to wait until people on the 1997 lists have been allocated available units. However, what stresses her is that she has seen a lot of younger people reportedly move themselves into units illegally.
Ward 55 DA Clr Rashieda Landis has been fighting this issue as there are a lot of people who have been on the list for decades and are still waiting for units.
Clr Landis advised Anastacia to apply for a unit at the JOSHCO offices as they offer affordable units where she will be able to live with her family. “In my view, the allocation process is very slow and I am aware that there are people moving into units illegally. I have sent an e-mail to the MMC of Housing, Clr Daniel Bovu, about this,” Clr Landis added.
Clr Landis’ hands are tied when it comes to allocating and evicting people as, by law, a ward councillor cannot evict or allocate people into units.
