The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Soweto east and their provincial leadership led Soweto residents on a march to the Housing Department this morning, Monday, October 26.
They marched from Uncle Tom’s Hall in Orlando West to the housing department in Bara where they handed over their memorandum.
The opposition party is calling on the housing department to prioritise the 1996 and 1997 waiting list often referred to as the 96/97 list.
“We stand here as representatives representing the residents of Soweto, especially Orlando, Diepkloof, Meadowlands, Dube, and Mzimhlophe.
“They are the people that have been forgotten by this government. They applied for State Subsidised Housing, better known as RDP houses,” said DA Member of Parliament (MP) Tsepo Mhlongo.
In their memorandum, the DA notes that the government is prioritising on the people who stay in informal settlements ignoring those who applied in 96/97.
“Many people who applied for houses in 96/97 continue to live in abject poverty, crowded houses and their plight is not raised as they don’t stay in informal settlements,” reads the memorandum delivered to the housing department.
Parts of the demands outlined by residents and the DA in their memorandum is that the government should give a status update on when will the people who applied in 96/97 be allocated houses.
The government should publish the 96/97 waiting list and make it public. Any housing development in Johannesburg has to include people who applied in 96/97 and the allocation process should be made transparent as well.
