A member of the Friendship Town residents committee Thulani Kweyaba said when the first people who moved into the flats in 1998, a project between the Chinese investors and South African government, they were told the residents will get the option to rent to buy the flats for five years, and other flats will be subsidised. “We do not know for sure who the current owners are, but we are concerned about the 60 tenants facing pending evictions. We need the MEC to help us so that ownership of those flats can be settled once and for all.” The tenants are currently paying between R4 500 to R5 000 per month.
Kweyaba pointed out that when Friendship Town flats were developed they were meant to be low-cost housing and a government subsidy was promised to residents who wanted to rent to buy the flats. “The rental charges are a sign that the current owners of the properties are on a profit-making scheme and do not care about the agreement made to the people,” he said.
The spokesperson for the MEC for Housing, Motsamai Motlhaolwa said, “The office of the MEC for Housing met with residents and assured them that the department’s legal team will work at finding a remedy to the situation.”
He stressed that residents should refrain from violent protests. “Violence does not solve anything. We will investigate who the owners of the properties are and liaise with Ekurhuleni Municipality, at this point it is not clear.”
