‘DA will not rest until the Ga Rena residents own their residences’ Mmusi Maimane

POLOKWANE – “If the municipality is run by the DA, we will pay the money that was used to build the residence so that our people can own the place.”

This was according to DA leader, Mmusi Maimane at the DA’s Freedom, Fairness and Opportunity Tour at Ga Rena on Friday evening.

“The DA plans to make sure the municipality takes the issues at Ga Rena Rental Village in Ladanna seriously and resolve them, even if we have to put a bomb under them.”

Maimane said a resident from Ga Rena called and told him about the struggles they have to endure daily. “The resident said they want to rent-to-buy so that they can pay school fees and manage to have a permanent home for their families in the long run, but the municipality turns a blind eye.”

Maimane urged residents to vote for the DA to ensure that a DA mayor is appointed. He promised a DA mayor will ensure residents can rent-to-buy.

“We want to ensure a new mayor is elected in Polokwane to work for the people and not for Jacob Zuma,” Maimane added.

He said the DA will not rest until the residents own their residences.

Municipal spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene responds regarding the rent-to-buy issue

“People should note that the matter regarding the rent-to-buy issue at Ga Rena has been resolved.”

“The initial agreement pertaining to rent-to-buy still stands. This message was communicated to the tenants committee late last year.”

“In March this year, a new lease agreement with a rent-to-buy clause was circulated to the tenants committee for comments before we could request those tenants who signed the previous, different agreement, to sign it,” Chuene explained.

She also said the committee indicated it would consult its lawyers on the agreement.

Follow-ups were made during subsequent meetings with the committee to try and attain a comment but to date the municipality has not yet received any comment, she confirmed.

“The dispute on the matter as reported is caused by the tenants who feel they have been renting the rented housing units at Ga Rena since inception of the project, therefore these housing units should be transferred to them for free.

“The houses cannot be awarded to the current tenants for free because the complex is bonded through the National Housing Finance Corporation, which has advanced us a loan of R31,5 million towards the development.

“To date the entity (Ga Rena) owes R24,2 million. The entity also owes the municipality R11,2 million that is yet to be repaid,” said Chuene.

She added that if the DA wants to buy housing, they should bear in mind that the housing units will be sold at market value.

She reminded the DA that the DA councillors are at liberty to pass a motion on this matter and the council will then pass a resolution.