Life is better for 70 families resident at the new Gift of the Givers sponsored housing scheme next to Setswetla informal settlement – but they worry it will not be for long.
They moved in in February from Setswetla, where conditions are extremely dire with residents describing themselves as the forgotten ones because of lack of housing, roads, electricity, proper sanitation and water systems.
The Setswetla shacks are hovels, the roads are rarely graded and are muddy due to constant running water from unmanaged communal water taps, while the mobile toilet facilities are rarely emptied and discouraging to use due to the constant pungent smell. The place turns frighteningly dark at night forcing residents indoors for their safety from criminals.
Thousands endure these conditions daily, and the new housing scheme was a relief to the lucky ones who were relocated from shacks perched on the Jukskei River bank – more for safety reasons than anything else. Some alleged that there could have been other residents who weren’t on the river banks who were more deserving than them.
Their new prefabricated homes consist of one room which came fully furnished with a double bed, a kid’s mattress, chest of drawers, sheets and pillows, plates, spoons and water glasses. All they did was bring their other movable items for storage at a homely, fenced environment with 24-hour security. They share free communal gas stoves and receive a free monthly supply of 10kg mealie meal, 2kg samp, 5kg sugar, 2kg beans, 2 litres of oil, soup, margarine, peanut butter, toilet paper and baby nappies if needed. They also have a fenced irrigated garden where vegetables are sprouting.
Their contractual obligation is to keep the place clean and secure by observing safety rules which prohibit visitors after 8pm and restricts residents from arriving after 11pm. Compliance is enforced by a committee and security guards on 24-hour patrol, and this arrangement has created a neighbourly environment.
Magdeline Mbele and Philipinah Nkwinika were upbeat when describing their new – though temporary – homes. “We are happy and live comfortably here, and there have been no thefts or break-ins,” said Mbele.
“Unfortunately our new homes are only a waiting area as we have been promised relocation to Alexandra Renewal Project houses, but don’t know when.”
