A mother of five is embroiled in a bitter fight for her home in Unit P outside Mdantsane, which she claims has been illegally invaded by a young man.
Nomawethu Mbusi from Mdantsane’s NU7 applied for a RDP house in 2010. She said her application was approved and she was allocated a home.
The 46-year-old mother said she had been sharing a house with someone else since 2012 when the man occupied her home.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch on Wednesday, Mbusi said she started enquiring about her house in July at Buffalo City Metro’s (BCM) housing department. She was told her housing application had not been approved.
She took the matter up with the provincial human settlement department where she was informed a site had been approved. The Daily Dispatch has seen a copy of the letter confirming her successful application.
“I only found last month that my house has been available all along. But when I went to check the house, I was shocked to find a young man occupying my house and refusing to move out,” she said.
Human settlement spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha further confirmed Mbusi’s version.
“The beneficiary, Nomawethu Mbusi, was approved only this year, last month for her home in Unit P, Site 6276. The application process started in 2010,” he said.
Mbusi said she was accompanied to the site by a BCM official, who reportedly promised to send law-enforcement officers to remove the occupiers.
“But that has not happened,” she said.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the house this week, it was locked. The occupant’s mother, Ntombe-khaya Kwanise, said she had asked the contractor to give her the keys when they left the site in 2012.
“I asked the workers to keep the house so that my son could stay there in the meantime because these houses were getting vandalised anyway.
“When Nomawethu came, I admit I did say we would not move out and it was because she was the third person to claim this was her house and so I did not believe her,” Kwanise said.
Kwanise said she does not know where her son would go, saying he has been applying for years but has not been approved. Sicwetsha said the department would undertake a verification process of all beneficiaries.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese confirmed that Mbusi had been approved for the unit. However, he said Mbusi was not yet the rightful owner of the house as she was still waiting for the title deed.
He said because the house had not been occupied it was vandalised after completion and in order to prevent the vandalism of the house the contractors decided to temporarily put in workers to look after it.
“This matter is being attended to by BCMM housing department with the assistance of the ward councillor and ward committee. If this person is refusing to vacate the house then the BCMM housing will refer the matter to BCMM Legal Services to act.” — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Woman in fight for her RDP home while squatter refuses to move out
Nomawethu Mbusi from Mdantsane’s NU7 applied for a RDP house in 2010. She said her application was approved and she was allocated a home.
The 46-year-old mother said she had been sharing a house with someone else since 2012 when the man occupied her home.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch on Wednesday, Mbusi said she started enquiring about her house in July at Buffalo City Metro’s (BCM) housing department. She was told her housing application had not been approved.
She took the matter up with the provincial human settlement department where she was informed a site had been approved. The Daily Dispatch has seen a copy of the letter confirming her successful application.
“I only found last month that my house has been available all along. But when I went to check the house, I was shocked to find a young man occupying my house and refusing to move out,” she said.
Human settlement spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha further confirmed Mbusi’s version.
“The beneficiary, Nomawethu Mbusi, was approved only this year, last month for her home in Unit P, Site 6276. The application process started in 2010,” he said.
Mbusi said she was accompanied to the site by a BCM official, who reportedly promised to send law-enforcement officers to remove the occupiers.
“But that has not happened,” she said.
When the Daily Dispatch visited the house this week, it was locked. The occupant’s mother, Ntombe-khaya Kwanise, said she had asked the contractor to give her the keys when they left the site in 2012.
“I asked the workers to keep the house so that my son could stay there in the meantime because these houses were getting vandalised anyway.
“When Nomawethu came, I admit I did say we would not move out and it was because she was the third person to claim this was her house and so I did not believe her,” Kwanise said.
Kwanise said she does not know where her son would go, saying he has been applying for years but has not been approved. Sicwetsha said the department would undertake a verification process of all beneficiaries.
BCM spokesman Thandy Matebese confirmed that Mbusi had been approved for the unit. However, he said Mbusi was not yet the rightful owner of the house as she was still waiting for the title deed.
He said because the house had not been occupied it was vandalised after completion and in order to prevent the vandalism of the house the contractors decided to temporarily put in workers to look after it.
“This matter is being attended to by BCMM housing department with the assistance of the ward councillor and ward committee. If this person is refusing to vacate the house then the BCMM housing will refer the matter to BCMM Legal Services to act.” — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos