Nontsikelelo Nyenge, 67, would give anything to own a decent house. The resident of the informal settlement known as Xolani Squatters has lived in her mud house for about two decades in the hope that some day she would benefit from the RDP houses that have been rolled out over the years.
Nontsikelelo Nyenge, 67, would give anything to own a decent house. The resident of the informal settlement known as Xolani Squatters has lived in her mud house for about two decades in the hope that some day she would benefit from the RDP houses that have been rolled out over the years.
What pains Nyenge even more is seeing decent RDP houses in Extension 10 being vandalised, while she and her family continue to live in unbearable conditions.
She arrived in Grahamstown in 1990 and rented a house in Tantyi under difficult circumstances, before building her own shack in Xolani.
Nyenge says she has been on the waiting list ever since then and she has continued to make sure she registers for every housing development initiative that has come along over the years, without any success.
"Even last year I went to 'BAAB' [the municipal housing department which many still refer to by its apartheid name, the Bantu Affairs Administration Board]to register for the Extension 10 housing project, but that hasn't yielded any success," she said.
During the recent storms, Nyenge says, she and her family battled leaking roofs and water coming into their home from every side.
"We had to lock ourselves into one room," she said.
Nyenge shares the house with her daughter and grandchild.
She says having to worry about fixing the house time and again has taken a huge toll on her health.
Nyenge has a heart problem and says constantly worrying about her house at her age is stressful.
She has appealed for help in getting a house.
Residents of Xolani Squatters have been living in the area since the 1990s without flushing toilets.
They still use communal taps. Makana Municipality spokesperson, Yoliswa Ramokolo, was on leave and thus hadn't been able to respond to questions from Grocott's Mail about the vandalised houses in Extension 10 by the time of going to press.
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