Many RDP houses were left dilapidated after a tornado swept through Duduza in 2011.
Residents are frustrated that nothing has been done to refurbish their homes after promises from community leaders to attend to their problems.
Samuel Motaung says he fears that, at any given time, strong winds or bad weather may strike the area and his house will collapse.
His roofing and walls suffered serious damage on that fateful day and, being unemployed, he is unable to repair the damages.
“All I want is for my house to be repaired, so my family and I may feel safe in our home.
“What I fear the most is the house collapsing while we are sleeping,” says the frustrated resident.
He is just one of many residents whose houses are still in a poor condition.
What frustrates the residents the most is the fact that government officials have seen the damages the RDP houses sustained and have done nothing about it.
“They said they would start repairs with the seriously damaged houses and follow with the less damaged houses, but, until today we have not been helped,” says Poppy Nhlapo, another resident.
Ward councillor Thabo Motaung says they have repaired 1 000 houses that collapsed and 700 houses that were seriously damaged by the tornado, through organisations that funded them.
“The remaining houses suffered minor damages and we checked last year to see if the number of houses that need to be fixed were still the same, then we sent reports to the Department of Housing,” he explains.
“We are waiting for the Department of Housing to come and assist us to fix the remaining RDP houses that need refurbishing.”
