Alex man claims municipal housing official refused to fix his collapsed roof
ALEXANDRA – An Alex man says he lives like an animal in a democratic South Africa.
A 66-year-old asthmatic pensioner has said a municipal housing department official has denied him of his constitutional right to have a roof over his head.
Isaac Manago, who lives alone in 7th Avenue, Alexandra, has been living in a roofless one-room house for more than two years. This after his house was burnt to ashes in a fire that left him with nothing in May 2016. Manago uses boxes he collects to cover his roof which leaks when it rains.
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Manago said he sought help from his Ward 107 councillor Ambie Maseko, who then referred him to the Housing Department in the City of Johannesburg, but he claims to have been denied help by a department official.
“I went to the Department of Housing to seek help on the advice of councillor Maseko. A guy by the name of Jeff told me that the department cannot help me because my house was built with mud and collapsed by itself,” he said.
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Maseko confirmed to Alex News that Manago’s matter was reported to the Housing Department in 2016 and pointed a finger at Jeff. “I [also] reported the matter to housing officials but a guy by the name of Jeff said they cannot help Isaac because his house was built of mud. The department has failed Isaac and last week we tried to relocate Isaac to Kwa-Vezunyawo but he refused,” said Maseko.
Speaking to Alex News, Jeff from Region E Housing Department, who refused to give his surname, said the matter is still under investigation and declined to elaborate further.
