Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter has confirmed allegations of corruption in the allocation of RDP houses in Extension 10 in Mayfield.
Makana Mayor Zamuxolo Peter has confirmed allegations of corruption in the allocation of RDP houses in Extension 10 in Mayfield.
He did this at a meeting organised by the Unemployed People's Movement (UPM) on Tuesday 6 August at Nombulelo High School in Joza.
The meeting, which attracted some 200 members from different wards, was aimed at addressing RDP housing backlogs. It was also a call to action against alleged fraud and corruption.
Peter said the Council had investigated the matter after a UPM alert, and had discovered that the field workers had scratched names off the lists and replaced them with those of friends and relatives.
“We are busy rectifying this, and will ensure that the rightful owners get their houses back,” he said.
The meeting was attended by the mayor, councillors and Council Speaker Rachel Madinda-Isaac. It was chaired by UPM chairman Ayanda Kota.
A cordless microphone was passed around the hall to give frustrated Grahamstown residents a chance to voice their frustrations with the municipality’s lack of service delivery.
They complained about the criteria for granting houses. Pensioners said younger people received housing allocations before they did.
Allegations of foul play, nepotism, patronage and favouritism were thrown about.
There were also claims that Rhodes staff received RDP houses and that some of the people whose applications were approved didn't live in the wards in which they were listed.
A resident of Vukani claimed he had been allocated a house and that the process had been approved. He even had the sticker to prove it.
“But I was later told that I'm not on the list, so I went to the housing office. They checked on the system and I was told that my name was indeed there and that I had been approved to get a house.”
He is still waiting.
Mayor Peter promised to register all the complaints and to address the housing backlog that is crippling many wards in Grahamstown.
UPM’s Ayanda Kota was pleased that the meeting had provided a platform for residents to vent their frustrations, and that the Mayor had acknowledged the corruption worsening the housing crisis in Grahamstown.
"Now we just need to monitor the municipality to ensure that they follow through on what they have said," Kota said.
