They were allegedly told they were the municipality’s priority, but they have not seen any promises being fulfilled. According to the residents on a plot of land near Mooibank, the municipality allegedly moved them from Sarafina Gugulethu on 12 January 2021. They had been living there for two years. The community heard that the initial plans were to build a school where they were living. “One of the councillors said the stands we occupied belonged to a school and that we had been living there informally,” one of the residents explained. “Not long after that, the court issued an eviction letter and we attended the court case in Mahikeng,” he added. The verdict was that the municipality had to supply the residents with alternative accommodation. During the process, the munici- pality allegedly promised them basic services like water and sanitation. Instead, they were moved to even worse conditions than before with no one to complain to. “We can’t blame the councillor who moved us here; all they did was take orders from the municipality,” one resident said. Five people share a small shack that consists of one bedroom and a small kitchen/living area without any water. When the Herald conducted the interview, it rained heavily, which somewhat worked in the residents’ favour as they could put buckets outside to collect the rainwater. However, with the excessive leakage, sitting in the shack was as good as being outside. “Some of our furniture has been damaged in the process,” another concerned resident lamented. Besides collecting rainwater in buckets, they have no choice but to buy their water. “We aren’t asking the municipality for anything more than what they promised us when we moved here,” said another frustrated resident. “Before we moved, the councillor told us we would find allocated stands, water and other basic needs. “It’s been three months and nothing has changed, no matter how many times we have been to the municipality.” “Not too long ago, we read in the Herald that there would be evictions in Mooibank; we weren’t informed of this,” one of the residents said. “We are worried that we will be evicted and dumped elsewhere, especially since we have only been living here for three months. What remains a concern to the residents is why the municipality does not deliver what they allegedly promised. They are also worried about what will happen to them should they be evicted. The Herald asked the municipality for comment, but none was forthcoming by the time of going to print. 
