A blind woman is sharing a one-room shack with her daughter and granddaughter in Extension 10, calling into question the government’s pledge to prioritise the elderly and disabled people when allocating RDP houses.
A blind woman is sharing a one-room shack with her daughter and granddaughter in Extension 10, calling into question the government’s pledge to prioritise the elderly and disabled people when allocating RDP houses.
Zingiswa Lamani, 46, claims she has been overlooked by the Extension 10 housing project and that younger, able-bodied residents have been allocated houses before her.
“I went through three councillors and they all promised that I was going to be at the top of the list of beneficiaries at the Extension 10 project, due to my disability,” Lamani said.
She said that "the younger generation" in her ward had been allocated houses at the project and that she has been sent from pillar to post by the councillors.
“Every time I talk to Ward 2 councillor, Nomathamsanqa Meti, she tells me of new plans to get me a house at the project’s Phase 2 section.”
She said that Meti initially assured her that she was on top of the Ward 2 list as she had "a special situation" and would be among the first to occupy the Extension 10 houses.
Councillor Meti told Grocotts on Wednesday that Lamani’s situation was brought to her attention when the screening for Phase 1 of the project was already done and the list approved by the Human Settlements Department.
“I explained to Zingiswa when she came to my office that we can’t remove someone’s name from the list and put on her name instead.”
Meti said she would make sure that Lamani is “prioritised on the next intake for the Phase 2 project”. Meti said she only took the reigns of councillor in 2011 and that her predecessors should be the ones answering for the error.
The shack Lamani lives in is a prefabricated corrugated iron structure donated to her in 2009 by the then councillor Zonwabele Mantla after a backyard flat she used to rent on the same street, was gutted in a fire.
The small shack triples as a bedroom, kitchen and a living room. According to Lamani the shack is flooded during rainy days and gets extremely hot during summer.
Lamani also fears for her safety: “This zinc structure is sought after by scrap metal dealers and I’m scared that they might take advantage of my disability and destroy it while I’m sleeping at night.” She said her steel gate and tap had fallen prey to vandals and she is scared that her flat might be next.
This is the third address she has lived in at the same street and every time she moves she has had to dismantle the structure and reassemble it at a new venue.
She added that she is sometimes left alone as the children go out and stay with friends.
Lamani said she became blind in 2005 after an accident and enrolled at Gadra for Braille studies, but dropped out in 2011.
Her R1200 disability grant supports her daughter and granddaughter.
Time for action
Protests by the Unemployed People's Movement (UPM) were sparked last year after the community accused the government of reneging on its pledge to prioritise the elderly and disabled, causing several delays to the housing project in Extension 10.
In August last year, in a meeting held at Nombulelo Hall organised by UPM, Grahamstown's Mayor, Zamuxolo Peter, promised to sort out the problem and assured everyone that the elderly and disabled would always be prioritised.
The pledge is endorsed by the Department of Human Settlements.
Spokesperson for the Department of Human Settlements, Lwandile Sicwetsha, said they had introduced an urgent new programme that would by-pass the normal channels: “This high-speed programme will help fast-track the process of allocating houses to people with special needs, because in their situations they can’t afford to wait as long as others.”
Sicwetsha said his department would take up Lamani's case.
