Residents want to buy ELM houses

VEREENIGING. – The residents of Bhenghazi street in Vereeniging have raised concerns about the dangerous living conditions they have been subjected to for years, while living in the houses owned by Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM).

The area which is just behind the Vereeniging fire station caters for about 26 households which are mostly occupied by employees of the municipality. In a detailed letter, residents said that they have been living under hazardous conditions as the houses have dilapidated without any efforts of maintenance from ELM.
In a recent meeting with ELM’s ward 15 councilor Prudence Hlanyane, residents said they feared for their safety and that of their children.

“We have been living here for years and we are beginning to feel unsafe. The houses continue to crack and unfortunately, we are not allowed to carryout any maintenance on the houses because they belong to the municipality.

“We have tried to engage the municipality numerous times without any success.”

“We request to be lawfully handed over the title deeds of the houses in Benghazi Street and Chris Viljoen Avenue.”

The residents say the ideal solution would be for the municipality to sell them the houses at a reasonable rate so that they can fix them and make them safe.

Hlanyane says, “These are municipal properties and the residents do not have any right to fix the property or do any refurbishments. The residents pay rates and taxes. They want to begin the process of taking ownership of the properties but they are not able to as the ELM is not coming to the party. They are even willing to buy the properties as they have been living here for years.”

Hlanyane said she had tried to engage the ELM for over a year without any success. ELM’s Chuchi Radebe said he would engage the relevant department.