It now emerges that the process that took place at the Boksburg Civic Centre was only to check and update the personal details of people who had already applied for housing following the launch of the Leeuwpoort project.
Surprise Mhlaba, who was among the hundreds of people hoping for better lives, thought she was applying for a house at the centre but was later told that she applied at the wrong place.
“I was told that people from places like Windmill Park and surrounding areas who registered for these houses were apparently wasting their time because they were not supposed to register in Boksburg but in Alberton,” Mhlaba said.
“It has come to my knowledge that the residents of Windmill Park (ward 99) were addressed by their councillor with confirmation that people won’t get these houses.
“There is a confusion in this whole matter and I think if people are not given clarity on the procedures they will protest,” the resident said.
The Ekurhuleni metro has set the record straight concerning the confusion surrounding the housing project.
Metro spokesperson Themba Gadebe confirmed the purpose of the exercise was to check and update the personal details of people who had already applied.
“The exercise was later turned into a process of registration for houses, which was not the intended purpose.
“However, all the people whose information has been captured on the Housing Subsidy System (HSS) will be considered for approval if the applicants do meet the criteria as set out for housing application.
“It is not correct that the people of Villa Liza were supposed to register in the Alberton offices.
“The HSS system is managed by the Gauteng Provincial Department of Human Settlements. This means that this system is being used to process information for all the people, irrespective of where they are coming from within the metro,” Gadebe said.
