Braamfischer man happy to be a home owner after nearly 30 years
Mzwandile Khathi Robert Silinda could not contain his excitement when he became a home owner for the first time in his life.
Robert Silinda could not contain his excitement when he became a home owner for the first time in his life. The 61 year old from Braamfischer said he will finally get some peace of mind after waiting for his RDP house for almost three decades.
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“I have been moving around renting rooms with my family for the longest time. You can imagine how difficult that has been because even the furniture doesn’t last. When you move around a lot it breaks easily,” said Silinda.
Next door to Silinda is an elderly couple, Marry and Musa Zwane who also became home owners for the first time.
They got to see their RDP house for the first time with their grandson. The couple had been sharing a family house with other family members in Emndeni while waiting for their RDP.
“I have been waiting for this house for 27 years. It makes me very happy that today I have been finally given the keys to my house and all the documents with my name,” said a happy Musa.
These Sowetans are part of a group that became home owners when the City of Johannesburg together with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements delivered 64 units last week in Lufhereng.
Title deeds were also handed over to residents who already have houses, thus making them official owners as well.
The oldest title deed recipient on the day was a 94 year old woman.
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Lebogang Maile, MEC for Human Settlements said it was not right that a 94 year old is only receiving her title deed now but government was working on speeding up the process.
The MEC added that about 1,2 million people in Gauteng need houses and government has various programmes in place to address the backlog.
While government scrambles to meet the growing housing demands in the province, informal settlements continue to mushroom even in areas not fit for human occupation.
While this is caused mostly by immigration and urbanisation, there’s still the issue of the 1996 waiting list which continues to haunt government.
City of Johannesburg Mayor, Thapelo Amad said collaboration between local and national governments was essential in addressing the backlog in housing.
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As the 64 families move in to occupy their new homes in Lufhereng, more are still waiting and will continue to pray for their names to be called soon.
