The Randfontein Local Municipality held a sod turning ceremony on 18 November in Mohlakeng extension 11.
This was to celebrate the initiative of building houses for families of the area who were forced to share a four roomed house in a single yard prior to democracy.
According to Randfontein Local Municipality Executive Mayor Sylvia Thebenare, the initiative is aimed at providing dignity and ownership in black communities which were previously disadvantaged during the apartheid era.
“People were placed in these houses as a temporal arrangement during the apartheid era which ended up stretching to date.
“‘This situation culminated into people staying in temporal tenure without permanent transfer of ownership to occupants.
“We have come to realize that over the years, people could not make changes to their properties owing to the fact that a portion of it belonged to someone else.
“Now we as the municipality thought that it was essential to address this problem as a way of addressing the injustices of the past.
“We are doing away with that and building people the houses they deserve,” says Thebenare.
She adds that Mohlakeng phase 1 consists of 90 housing stands and 90 government subidised housing units
The houses in question will come furnished with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom as well as a kitchen.
Meanwhile the old houses will be demolished to make way for the new housing units. According to one of the beneficiaries Mary Moteane, it is good that the municipality is absorbing residents in life changing initiatives.
“Such strides by the municipality really gives us hope that our government is actually looking after its people.”
