The Albany Resource and Development Agency Centre in Eluxolweni was buzzing with activity on Tuesday as people gathered for a consumer housing workshop.
The informative workshop was intended to inform residents about how they should care for their RDP houses, what rights they have as home owners as well as their responsibilities regarding their houses.
The Albany Resource and Development Agency Centre in Eluxolweni was buzzing with activity on Tuesday as people gathered for a consumer housing workshop.
The informative workshop was intended to inform residents about how they should care for their RDP houses, what rights they have as home owners as well as their responsibilities regarding their houses.
Provincial Housing manager, Lindelwa Mngcita was the main speaker and before her address, she gave residents a chance to voice their concerns and expectations. "My daughter applied for a house and it got approved. The house was built but the problem is that it is occupied by someone else. I want to know how that happened," one resident asked. Another resident suspected some applications for housing were destroyed as he believes some of the applications do not reach the housing office.
Residents also told Mngcita that they find their houses to be unsatisfactory. They were apparently promised to have tiled roofs as well as ceramic baths and sinks. Mngcita could not answer some of the questions as some were the contractors’ responsibility. Another complaint from the Eluxolweni residents was that they feel the value of the houses is no longer R54 000 but that cheaper material is used so the money could be used for something else, hence the corrugated iron instead of tiles and plastic baths instead of ceramic. She also asked the residents if they have a project steering committee and they said they did not. "It is not too late to have a steering committee as the contractor is still here and the councillor must be part of it," said Mngcita. She stated that the committee ensures that the houses are in order, it holds meetings to discuss whether they are happy with the houses and records the minutes of those meetings. "It’s difficult to run a project smoothly when there’s no committee," she added.
The meeting also addressed the rights and responsibilities of RDP home owners. Pheliswa Soxujwa, a housing consumer education practitioner in Grahamstown said, "There are advantages and disadvantages to owning a house, every new home owner has certain rights, roles and responsibilities with regards to their new home," Soxujwa explained. "A house owner has the right to report defects in the house before five years end from the date of occupancy. What house owners do not understand is that a contractor has to fix everything that goes wrong in the first five years but after that, it’s the owner’s responsibility," Mngcita stated. Also the issue of lost or stolen material was addressed. "People must take ownership of the government and housing projects in their areas. Do not support something that will destroy the project, people must not buy stolen material instead they should report that person."
In addition Mngcita said, "Some people apply for house but they sell them for R6 000 and go back to their shacks, that’s illegal. RDP houses can’t be sold before eight years elapse from the day of occupancy as it is still co-owned by the government. To sell or buy a house before that period elapses makes both parties guilty." Also the houses cannot be altered or turned into businesses. Owners are allowed to build onto the structure but it should remain a residential site. "If one has a house anywhere in the country, they can’t be allocated another one. If they no longer want the house, they can go to the provincial office where the house is located and de-register themselves so they can get a house where they stay," said Mngcita.
