The 87 shackdwellers in Duncan Village who staged numerous violent protests over their RDP houses that were “stolen” by illegal occupants in Reeston in 2009 will be awarded new RDP houses at a housing development currently under way in Reeston.
The shackdwellers from Florence Street have vowed that this time they will be keeping a close eye on the development.
Buffalo City Metro (BCM) spokesperson Thandy Matebese said the new project would consist of 1137 units and to date there were 954 beneficiaries who had been approved for the project.
In 2009 the Daily Dispatch reported on shackdwellers who received their housing allocation letters and demolished their shacks in order to move into their completed RDP units only to find them occupied by non-beneficiaries.
The disappointed shackdwellers returned to the land they occupied and rebuilt their shacks.
Over the years the disgruntled shackdwellers staged numerous violent protests during which they burnt tyres on the Mdantsane access road, demanding that they get their houses.
During one of the protests 14 were arrested when they clashed with the police and others were injured when police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Nonceba Ludidi, who is one of the 87, said they were not happy with the manner in which the metro had dealt with the “thieves”.
“We, the rightful owners, became the victims.
“We had to lose our self-respect as grown women and men and burn tyres in order for our plight to be heard, meanwhile the thieves continued to live in our houses.”
Another beneficiary, Noluthando
Majida, said what happened to them was very painful and he hoped it would not happen again.
Matebese said in an attempt to prevent the reoccurrence of illegal occupation a professional team has been appointed to supervise the site.
“The supervision requires the resident engineer to be on site at all times,” said Matebese.
After the municipality became aware of the illegal occupation in Reeston an external law firm was appointed to undertake the eviction process, Matebese said.
“The court evoked the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act and council took a resolution that the illegal occupants be regularised so those who qualified for a subsidy should remain and those who did not qualify be considered according to the merits of their cases.
“Due to ongoing discussions between BCM and province the matter has been suspended until further notice,” said Matebese.
Ludidi said they planned to meet with the newly appointed mayor Alfred Mtsi to brief him about their housing dilemma.
“We want him to be informed about our past struggle for housing and make him understand that he needs to keep a close eye on this new housing development in Reeston and ensure the houses are awarded to the rightful owners,” said Ludidi. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
Space for building dreams
The shackdwellers from Florence Street have vowed that this time they will be keeping a close eye on the development.
Buffalo City Metro (BCM) spokesperson Thandy Matebese said the new project would consist of 1137 units and to date there were 954 beneficiaries who had been approved for the project.
In 2009 the Daily Dispatch reported on shackdwellers who received their housing allocation letters and demolished their shacks in order to move into their completed RDP units only to find them occupied by non-beneficiaries.
The disappointed shackdwellers returned to the land they occupied and rebuilt their shacks.
Over the years the disgruntled shackdwellers staged numerous violent protests during which they burnt tyres on the Mdantsane access road, demanding that they get their houses.
During one of the protests 14 were arrested when they clashed with the police and others were injured when police used rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Nonceba Ludidi, who is one of the 87, said they were not happy with the manner in which the metro had dealt with the “thieves”.
“We, the rightful owners, became the victims.
“We had to lose our self-respect as grown women and men and burn tyres in order for our plight to be heard, meanwhile the thieves continued to live in our houses.”
Another beneficiary, Noluthando
Majida, said what happened to them was very painful and he hoped it would not happen again.
Matebese said in an attempt to prevent the reoccurrence of illegal occupation a professional team has been appointed to supervise the site.
“The supervision requires the resident engineer to be on site at all times,” said Matebese.
After the municipality became aware of the illegal occupation in Reeston an external law firm was appointed to undertake the eviction process, Matebese said.
“The court evoked the Prevention of Illegal Eviction Act and council took a resolution that the illegal occupants be regularised so those who qualified for a subsidy should remain and those who did not qualify be considered according to the merits of their cases.
“Due to ongoing discussions between BCM and province the matter has been suspended until further notice,” said Matebese.
Ludidi said they planned to meet with the newly appointed mayor Alfred Mtsi to brief him about their housing dilemma.
“We want him to be informed about our past struggle for housing and make him understand that he needs to keep a close eye on this new housing development in Reeston and ensure the houses are awarded to the rightful owners,” said Ludidi. — arethal@dispatch.co.za
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