Chaos erupted in Unit P in Mdantsane yesterday when hundreds of people who had illegally occupied empty RDP houses clashed with metro police.
A large contingent of Buffalo City Municipality law enforcement officers – in more than 10 vehicles including trucks, minibuses, bakkies and sedans – arrived in the area yesterday morning to evict people from 141 RDP homes.
They were later joined by police officers, while BCM housing officials were also dispatched to the area. The Daily Dispatch reported on Tuesday how more than 100 residents desperate for homes, had invaded ones that were standing empty.
The housing project was funded by the Department of Human Settlements and completed in 2013. It was handed over to the metro to assign to beneficiaries, but this process has not yet been completed.
At the weekend, residents from Mdantsane and Mbekweni started moving into the empty houses, alleging that a ward councillor had instructed them to do so.
When officers arrived in the area yesterday, some of the home occupiers fled the scene while others refused to move.
The officers however broke down doors, removed security gates and confiscated material inside the houses.
An angry Silulami Kamla said: “The police have taken away my working tools, including my wheelbarrow. I was assisting people putting in doors and when the officers came they did not even allow me to take the doors out properly. They just broke down new doors and caused such wasteful expenditure for the people who bought those things.”
Zolani Nyanda, who had earlier occupied one of the homes, said he would not move out.
He said he was frustrated with the reality of not having his own home while buildings stood empty and were being vandalised.
Ward councillor Zameka Gajula, who denied giving residents permission to move into the houses, was also at the scene yesterday. She was later joined by portfolio head for housing, councillor Nomiki Mgezi as the situation became tense, with the crowd threatening to attack Gajula. The residents said they had decided to occupy the houses as they were fed up with reported cases of rape, robberies and drug abuse taking place in the abandoned houses.
Mgezi yesterday pleaded with the residents to move out of the houses before BCM took action again.
“The operation will go on, the police will not leave that area. They will continue with the operation,” Mgezi added.
Gajula said the reason why the houses had not been assigned to their rightful beneficiaries was due to people not being traceable or not wanting to live in Unit P – among others.
“ We are trying by all means to fast track the repairs to be done to the houses so that the rightful beneficiaries can move into their houses,” Mgezi said.
More evictions are expected to take place today. —mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Officials evict home occupiers
A large contingent of Buffalo City Municipality law enforcement officers – in more than 10 vehicles including trucks, minibuses, bakkies and sedans – arrived in the area yesterday morning to evict people from 141 RDP homes.
They were later joined by police officers, while BCM housing officials were also dispatched to the area. The Daily Dispatch reported on Tuesday how more than 100 residents desperate for homes, had invaded ones that were standing empty.
The housing project was funded by the Department of Human Settlements and completed in 2013. It was handed over to the metro to assign to beneficiaries, but this process has not yet been completed.
At the weekend, residents from Mdantsane and Mbekweni started moving into the empty houses, alleging that a ward councillor had instructed them to do so.
When officers arrived in the area yesterday, some of the home occupiers fled the scene while others refused to move.
The officers however broke down doors, removed security gates and confiscated material inside the houses.
An angry Silulami Kamla said: “The police have taken away my working tools, including my wheelbarrow. I was assisting people putting in doors and when the officers came they did not even allow me to take the doors out properly. They just broke down new doors and caused such wasteful expenditure for the people who bought those things.”
Zolani Nyanda, who had earlier occupied one of the homes, said he would not move out.
He said he was frustrated with the reality of not having his own home while buildings stood empty and were being vandalised.
Ward councillor Zameka Gajula, who denied giving residents permission to move into the houses, was also at the scene yesterday. She was later joined by portfolio head for housing, councillor Nomiki Mgezi as the situation became tense, with the crowd threatening to attack Gajula. The residents said they had decided to occupy the houses as they were fed up with reported cases of rape, robberies and drug abuse taking place in the abandoned houses.
Mgezi yesterday pleaded with the residents to move out of the houses before BCM took action again.
“The operation will go on, the police will not leave that area. They will continue with the operation,” Mgezi added.
Gajula said the reason why the houses had not been assigned to their rightful beneficiaries was due to people not being traceable or not wanting to live in Unit P – among others.
“ We are trying by all means to fast track the repairs to be done to the houses so that the rightful beneficiaries can move into their houses,” Mgezi said.
More evictions are expected to take place today. —mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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