The relocation process of the Cinderella hostel dwellers to the new RDP apartments in Parkdene was halted on September 15.
It was temporarily stopped after the Reiger Park residents barricaded the entrance of the RDP apartments and demanded to be included in the list of people who will be placed in the dwelling.
According to the Ekurhuleni MMC of Human Settlements, Dino Peterson, the relocation process was temporarily stopped because they want to re-verify that the right beneficiaries are going to be put in the apartments and to address the concerns that were raised by the Reiger Park residents and Cinderella hostel dwellers during a meeting they held on September 17.
“As a department, we will be embarking on a programme to ensure that all the residents of Reiger Park who are carrying C-forms and have been on the RDP waiting list from as early as 1996 up until 1999 are re-captured onto the RDP waiting list system.
“It will also help those who are captured on the system to update their information and identify those who have been approved but not allocated. We will also be prioritising that disabled people are registered on the database.
“The Human Settlements Department wishes to confirm and put on record that the Reiger Park residents are the beneficiaries of the Leeuwpoort housing development,” said Peterson.
He added that an inspection process of the RDP apartments was established by the Human Settlements Department on September 23 and after that inspection’s findings the relocation process will resume.
A Reiger Park community member Raylene Simmers explained to the Advertiser that they have been on the Human Settlement Department’s RDP housing waiting list from as early as 1996, but are still waiting for houses.
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She added that the metro built the RDP apartments right next to their area (Reiger Park), but to their surprise, no one from their area is going to get one.
“The metro doesn’t consider us when it normally builds RDP houses, however, we demand to be prioritised,” said Simmers. We are renting and other adults are still living with their parents here in Reiger Park, so we are intolerant of not being prioritised.”
Ward 32 Clr Marius de Vos said 152 RDP apartments were built and it’s only those who have been given relocation letters from Cinderella Hostel, Central Hostel, Hlahane informal settlement and Crossroads informal settlement that are going to be put in the apartments.
“However, residents of Reiger Park are displeased with the placement process. They are saying it is unfair for them to live in Reiger Park for generations.
“I understand their frustration, but I am not in charge of the placement process. The apartments were built as part of the R2.9b Leeuwpoort project that started in 2012. The metro aims to build 22 500 houses as part of this project,” said de Vos.
The community leader of Cinderella Hostel, Noluthando Mangali, said the metro has to keep its promise of giving them apartments.
“The Human Settlements Department officials gave us relocation letters on September 14 during a workshop they held in Boksburg.
“They promised to move us the following day to the new apartments, but that never happened. We were sure we were soon going to be in our new homes. We have been waiting for these apartments for a long time,” said Mangali.
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