No joy, only disappointment at BCM housing handover

What was supposed to be a joyful moment for 340 East London families turned into confusion in Mdantsane as Buffalo City Metro mayor Xola Pakati failed to show up on Friday for what the city had said would be the official handing over of houses.

BCM had sent out media invites for the handover, which was supposed to be at noon, of housing units to the “rightful beneficiaries” of the housing project.

When the Dispatch arrived in Mdantsane Zone 1 at about noon, residents led by the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) were picketing outside the housing structures, saying they had never been consulted about the project.

The houses were temporary structures and not RDP houses as the city had implied in its media invite.

Mdantsane informal settlements residents are against people being moved from Duncan Village into the temporary structures ahead of them.

This is fast becoming a trend as on Thursday, East Bank residents also protested against people from other areas being moved into temporary houses in their area, saying they should be given first preference.

Two hours after the scheduled handover, Pakati had still not arrived and no explanation was given to the residents. 

After a two-hour wait, Sanco Mdantsane zone leader Duduzani Bobie handed over a memorandum of demands to a BCM human settlements official.

The memorandum stated that according to the Mdantsane Urban Renewal Programme the land had been identified for community projects for the people of Mdantsane.

“We saw [temporary] houses being erected here,” Bobie said. “If they had followed the correct protocols we would have known about this project.

“This project shocked us; even the community from the area does not know about these houses. The residents were never consulted about this.

“We called the BCM department of human settlements to tell us what exactly is happening, so that we can resolve this amicably, but we were ignored for over a month. We ended up being frustrated and decided to hold a march.”

BCM officials only came to shed light on the project on Tuesday this week, he said.

“We went to law enforcement last week to apply for the march and that is only when BCM came to us, at the last moment.

“That is why we are here today. Mdantsane residents in informal settlements wanted houses and were told there was no land and they saw this piece of land. Now it’s shocking to see temporary structures for other people.”

Resident Mlungisi Bhushula, 60, agreed.

“I have been living in a shack for 25 years with five children,” Bhushula said. “We do not want people from Duncan Village to come and live here. We are not fighting with them but these projects must benefit the people of this area.”

Called for clarity after Pakati’s no-show, BCM spokesperson Samkelo Ngwenya changed his tune, saying the mayor was only doing a site visit to BCM projects.

“The mayor did go there but he was only doing an inspection. The handover will be done in two weeks [once] the project and beneficiaries are finalised.

“We have several projects under way and anyone who has grievances must use the right channels.”

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