Flaws in the allocation process of RDP houses in the Mayfield housing project in Extension 10 have turned residents of the new development against each other.
Flaws in the allocation process of RDP houses in the Mayfield housing project in Extension 10 have turned residents of the new development against each other.
This week Grocott’s Mail attempted to find answers for two women who have documents that clearly state that they should be living in their houses in Extension 10. Yet they are not.
Nontinam Sylvia Sitani, who currently lives in a family home in Extension 9, says she was approved for the Extension 10 houses in 2014.
She said after her application was passed, municipal officials had come to her home and informed her that she had been approved to get a house in Extension 10 and she was given a form to complete.
“They said they were sent to me by [a councillor]. I filled in the form and they gave me a yellow sticker that they said was evidence that I have been approved for a house.
“In 2014, people started getting their Phase 1 houses, but I didn’t get mine.
“That was when I decided to go to the councillor and enquire about the issue.
“He referred me to the Makana Municipality housing department in Joza.
“I went to the housing department and was told that I should bring my child’s birth certificate. They said the certificate would be attached to my housing application form. But I was confused because when I made my application I did bring the child's birth certificate.
“I called the Eastern Cape Human Settlements Department in East London and I was told that my name appeared as being approved for a house in Mayfield. I was told that I will never benefit in any housing project in the future because my name is already on the system,” said Sitani.
She said she returned to the Makana housing department and was told that she had been approved for Phase 2.
Sitani said they informed her that the house she was supposed to receive belonged to somebody else.
She said she was then shown documents proving that the house belonged to someone else. She said the documents she was shown and those she had were the same.
“Everything is the same including the site number,” Sitani said.
She said she travelled to the Human Settlements regional offices in Port Elizabeth. There, she said, they asked for her details and checked on their system.
She said they told her that her name was there and that her status in the system indicated that her application had been approved.
Sitani said she went to check the house in Extension 10 and found another woman, whose name is known to Grocott’s Mail, living there.
“When I arrived at the house I met up with a woman. When I explained my situation, the woman became angry and started to shout at me and used vulgar language.
“She said the house belonged to her and it was given to her by her councillor, whom she didn’t mention by name,” said Sitani.
Sitani’s only hope now is that she will get another house when Phase 2 of the project gets under way.
Meanwhile Joyce Mhimhi Joja, of Hlalani, faces a similar problem. Grocott’s Mail visited her on Monday but she was at work and only her daughter Asanda Joja was available.
Explaining her mother’s story, Asanda said Joja had registered for the Extension 10 house in 2013.
A while after that, she received a call from the Makana housing department saying she must go to Tantyi Hall, where she registered for the house to sign forms.
"My mother went to Tantyi Hall, signed the forms and received a sticker as evidence of approval for a house in Extension 10.
"After that our councillor here in ward 7, Malibongwe Khubalo, called a meeting of people who were approved for houses in Extension 10. My mother's name was among those.
"They were told to go and collect their keys at the Makana housing department in Joza.
"My mother went on to collect her keys, but was told to come with Khubalo to collect the house keys.
"She struggled to get hold of Khubalo but eventually talked to him and informed him of what was said at the housing department.
"Khubalo said to my mother that she should go to Tantyi because that was where she was told that she had been approved to receive a house.
"When my mother questioned that fact that her name was called during the ward 7 meeting, Khubalo said she should go to Tantyi's ward 10 councillor, Vuyani Kolisi," said Joja's daughter.
When Grocott's Mail spoke to Khubalo yesterday he explained that he had tried his best to help Joja but the situation was out of his hands because she is registered under Ward 10. Khubalo said he tried to help the family get in touch with Ward 10 councillor Vuyani Kolisi, but they wouldn't.
Khubalo showed Grocott's Mail proof that Joja had registered as a resident of Y Street, which is under Ward 10. Asanda also confirmed that her mother registered under the Y Street address.
Grocott's Mail is in possession of documents from the provincial housing department that show the two women were approved for RDP houses in Extension 10.
Provincial Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Lwandile Sicwetsha said people who have such problems must communicate them to their customer service department so that they can deal with them.
"If they are approved and are not in their houses they must follow the process of reporting, so we can help them through the Beneficiary Correct Occupation Programme.
"It’s a provincial programme that we take throughout all the regions in the province when people have complaints so that we can listen and fix those things. The number is 0860 000 039," he said.
Sicwetsha said the municipality was better placed to answer the two women's questions because they were responsible for handling applications and the allocation of houses.
"All we do as the province is to approve the list and build the houses and then take them back to the municipality and say the houses are ready." Sicwetsha said they don’t expect to see changes once they have approved the lists because they have already captured it on the system.
"It’s not going to change, even if people scratch off the name and put in another one, the name of the person who was allocated the subsidy (remains the rightful owner of the house)," he said.
Sicwetsha said in their policy speech this year Human Settlements MEC Helen Sauls-August said municipalities need to have Housing Allocation Committees.
Part of the committees' duties would be to ensure that lists are displayed in community halls so that people can see them.
Sicwetsha said the department would give these committees draft by-laws which stipulate that when the list moves from the municipality to the department it must be attached to a council resolution.
"Because we believe that once it is adopted by council it protects its integrity. We also want them to start a programme of gazetting the housing lists. Once a list is gazetted you know it’s not going to be easy to remove people and replace them with those you like," he said.
anele@grocotts.co.za
