Illegal, forceful invasion of houses in Mpumalanga condemned

The department of human settlements in Mpumalanga has condemned the illegal occupation of RDP houses in the province, reports Mpumalanga News.

This comes after 200 beneficiaries took occupation of government low-cost houses at Duvha Park Ext 1 in eMalahleni Local Municipality after the eviction of illegal occupants.

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The head of the department, Kebone Masange, said: “The department worked with the local municipality and police to conduct a verification process to ensure that all rightful owners move back into their homes safe. Two of the houses were burned by perpetrators when they were evicted. The department is in a process of fixing the damaged houses.

“These elements of criminality happened when some beneficiaries were intimidated and evicted by certain individuals who claimed poor consultation, fraud, and corruption during project implementation. Some of the members invaded other houses which were either unoccupied or incomplete and were yet to be handed over to beneficiaries.”

The perpetrators forcefully and unlawfully evicted deserving and rightful beneficiaries from their houses claiming that the project had to benefit people from Uthingo Park and Tasbet Park since they could no longer afford to pay high rent.

According to Masange, the perpetrators targeted the weak and vulnerable – including people living with disabilities- as well as the aged and child-headed families.

“This government refuses to allow lawlessness and criminal acts to rob the rights of deserving beneficiaries to shelter and to live in a safe and secure environment. All those affected are urged to visit offices of the department or the local municipality for further intervention,” he said.

The Duvha Park project is part of the R54 million project that consists of 500 houses delivered through the Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP) and water, sanitation, and roads infrastructure jointly delivered by the department and the municipality. The department has thus far completed 370 units, and 130 are in various stages of completion.

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