Untraceable owners: cancel RDP title deeds
Mayor John Mpe said the new strides will reduce challenges going forward as the municipality will handle them directly.
POLOKWANE – The city will request the Department of Human Settlements as a developer of low-cost houses in Ext 71, 76 and 9L to ask that the National Prosecuting Authority cancels the title deeds of Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) home owners who cannot be traced despite efforts to find them.
This is according to a recent council document, which noted that there are three houses in ext 71 and ext 76 respectively, two in ext 44 and six in Seshego 9L that have been illegally occupied.
The municipality in the document said it intends to regularise the occupations of these people. “This should, however, not be construed as a precedent. It is only done since possible litigation may be costly”.
Evictions are regulated through the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from, and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act of 1998.
“Some of the current occupants may not meet the qualification criteria. If the structure is dilapidated, occupants will be allocated sites and allowed to lodge new applications for new houses as and when projects are approved,” the resolution reads.
If the process is conducted and approved, the illegal occupants will be placed elsewhere with the option to apply for a low-cost house. The municipality will incur the costs of repairing the houses once reallocated to those who are already on the waiting list.
Some concerned RDP house applicants expressed mixed reactions to the request.
They had enlisted names in request for RDP houses as far back as 2006 in Polokwane, but with little progress.
Some reported to BONUS that government was slow in responding to the rising occupation by undocumented and documented foreign nationals, who do not qualify for government-funded housing.
Areas where the 17 houses whose beneficiaries are untraceable, are home to foreign nationals, complainants reported.
“Some occupy houses that are abandoned and considered to be inhabitable while others rent from owners. Some have even bought the houses while we continue to suffer,” Chris Mahanyela remarked.
Last Monday, many of the complainants visited the Itsoseng Polokwane Housing Unit in the city after a website link circulated on social media, to follow progress with regard to their applications. Some houses had already been allocated while others are in the process of being allocated.
Last Thursday, the municipality signed a housing implementation control pact with Human Settlements to deal with building and allocation directly.
Mayor John Mpe said the new strides will reduce challenges going forward as the municipality will handle them directly.
