Some residents of Hostel 1 in Thushanang are complaining after an advert appeared in the Witbank News.
The advert which appeared in the Witbank News dated February 3, inviting application for rental accommodation under the Community Residential Units Programme available at KwaGuqa Hostel 1 Block 2.
Sewerage running through the streets of Hostel 1 in Thushanang and the hostel committee are complaining about some of these issues.
According to the residents of Hostel 1, they allege they were promised by the municipality that after the renovations of the hostel were completed, they will be first to occupy the place after they were turned into family units.
They allege again that they were promised that it would be the same process as it was done in Block 4.
They say that they had hoped that after completion of Block 2, municipality would meet the Hostel Committee to facilitate the allocation process, but it was never done.
Cracks in some of the buildings at Hostel 1 in Thushanang and the residents are concerned about the buildings.
The Hostel Committee said they have the waiting list but they were surprised when the Red Ants took occupation of the houses in Block 2. They also alleged that some items were missing in Block 2 after the occupation by the Red Ants like, tiles, water pumps, circuit breakers and other items and the Red Ants do not pay rent.
Sharing and no privacy are some of the issues raised by the hostel committee.
The residents also said they were concerned about a white family staying in Block 2; they want to find out what process was followed for the family to stay there.
Failing ceilings are some of the problems encountered by the residents of the hostel.
They say they are prepared to pay for services but are against renting as they said they were promised that the same principle for RDP houses would be followed.
Some say they have been staying at the hostel for more than 30 years but are treated as outsiders.
The residents are also complaining that they have tried to speak to their councillor and allegedly he is avoiding them. They say they have written four letters to municipal manager Mr Theo Van Vuuren, the speaker and the executive mayor without any response or acknowledgment.
They also said they met Cllr Cecelia Maraba in December 14 last year and she promised a meeting this year in January, but the meeting never took place.
Sharing a room meant for a family in the housing unit of the hostel are said to be a problem by the hostel committee.
They also want clarity about Emalahleni Housing Company’s involvement in the hostel.
They say residents staying in Block 3 do not have title deeds and that needs to be clarified.
They say people in Block 2 are sharing and living like sardines.
“Some ceilings are falling in Block 2 as well as sewerage problems and cracks in wall of the houses are a concern to us as well. We have tried all that we could to do to engage with municipality but we are not making any progress,” said a hostel committee member.
A questionnaire was sent to Emalahleni Communication Manager Mr Kingdom Mabuza seeking clarity on the matter. He stated that as a municipality they were following a government policy, the CRU Programme which replaces the National Hostel Redevelopment Programme and the proposed Affordable Rental Housing Programme and that the hostels are residential units owned by provinces and municipalities.
The programme provides a coherent framework for dealing with the many different forms of existing public-sector residential accommodation. The CRU Programme aims to facilitate the provision of secure, stable rental tenure for lower-income individuals. The programme targets low-income individuals and households who are unable to enter the formal private rental and social housing market.
He also stated that the ward councillor was involved in the process of allocation and that initially there were 99 people on the housing list and later they were left with only 22, with some having left the place. He also indicated that the hostel was a rental stock as stated in the policy.
They have outsourced funding from the provincial government and they have involved Emalahleni Housing Company to facilitate the programme which the policy allows. It was also stated that there were many committees at the hostel and some were invited to four meetings, but they never attended any of them. There were a lot of invasions and break-ins at the hostel and that is the reason for Red Ants took occupation of parts of the houses.
ALSO READ:
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/36496/eff-took-to-the-streets/
https://www.citizen.co.za/witbank-news/80324/red-ants-seeing-red-in-phola-land-invasion/
