A woman whose house collapsed is hopeful she’ll be in line to receive an RDP house once the Extension 10 housing project is complete.
A woman whose house collapsed is hopeful she’ll be in line to receive an RDP house once the Extension 10 housing project is complete.
Vuyiswa Dyani lives in Fingo Village with her boyfriend, two of their children and a third child who is related to them.
Both their children attend school, but their income is so little they can barely afford to buy school uniforms and other necessities. The family lives off their child support grants and the couple has lived on E Street for many years.
Dyani said they’d been renting the shack where they lived, but when the landlord learnt of their plight he stopped asking for rent.
Then the poor family’s humble home collapsed just a few weeks ago.
It was in such a bad state that a person sitting inside could see out through a gaping hole. The couple was forced to destroy the damaged part of their house, and they currently live in a one-room shack.
Despite asking their ward councillor for help finding a new house or temporary place to stay they remain in the damaged shack. Ward 10 councillor Vuyani Kolisi, who lives a few houses away from them, said he could do nothing to improve their situation.
Kolisi told Grocott’s Mail that his hands were tied because neither the shack nor the land it was built on belonged to Dyani and her family.
He also said the municipality didn’t currently have tents to offer them and even if there were, they couldn’t erect one on another person’s property.
However, the family has reason to be optimistic following the rapid pace of construction in Extension 10.
Last week Dyani told Grocott’s Mail that her name appeared on the list of beneficiaries of the Mayfield Phase 2 housing project, according to Kolisi.
"My name did appear on the list. I’m hopeful that I will finally get a house," she said.
According to the provincial human settlements department, they prioritise people who are vulnerable, destitute, have no source of income, earn less than R3 500 a moth or have never previously applied for a house.
Priority is also given to child-headed homes, elderly and disabled people and MK veterans.
