THE City of Johannesburg’s housing department has begun with the allocation of 70 prefabricated units to people evicted from Fattis Mansions and the Cape York buildings mid-2017.
This comes after a court order instructing the city to house the people by October 1 last year. Over 200 people were displaced from the buildings and placed in makeshift tents adjacent to Wembley Stadium, Johannesburg South, after fires that took place early July 2017.
With no running water, electricity and overcrowding, life became very difficult for the people living in the tents. Supporting their families was made more difficult by the fact that most had lost their documentation in the fire, so they were unable to find work.
When COURIER spoke to one of the representatives of the people living in tents the year before, Abdul ‘Rambo’ Jamal, he said, “Since it is still winter, these tents are freezing at night. You can literally see dew melting and dripping onto us.”
The department saw the allocation of prefabricated units with ablution facilities, electricity and water as the quickest solution to the issue.
Although the residents were instructed to be housed by October 1 last year, they remained displaced almost a year after the evictions. The city attributed this delay to a backlog of up to 30 000 units that still need to be provided.
The department began with the first phase by allocating 33 units on June 29. They acknowledge that this allocation comes much later than the court deadline.
Clyde Katayi from Zimbabwe said he wants to thank the council and the South African government for the units. He hopes they will be occupying them in a month’s time.
“The project was fraught with challenges as we tried to reach the deadline set by the court. We are not where we had planned to be, but this is a major milestone,” Zanele Malusi, the project manager, said.
In a statement released by MMC for housing Clr Meshack van Wyk, the department stated that the allocation of all the units is expected to be completed within the coming weeks.
WATCH:
For free daily local news in the south, visit our sister newspapers Alberton Record, Comaro Chronicle, Southern Courier and Get it Joburg South Magazine.
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. You can also email our offices on cvdwalt@caxton.co.za, juliem@caxton.co.za or luckyt@caxton.co.za
Add us on WhatsApp today! Comaro Chronicle: 079 427 8074 and Southern Courier: 079 404 5789.
