Pretoria - Finally, Portia Mulaudzi is the proud new owner of an RDP house in Suiderberg, north-west of Pretoria.
Mulaudzi has been given a certificate of acceptance, also known as a “happy letter”, and keys to an RDP house she had battled to get since December.
The mother of a 13-year-old boy applied for an RDP house in 2003 while staying in Atteridgeville.
She was excited when she got a call that she would be given a house before Christmas last year, as reported in the Pretoria News.
However, she waited for a call she had been told would come informing her about collecting the keys.
But it never came.
Instead of the keys, she started receiving municipal bills for an RDP house she was not even staying in.
“Every month I would receive municipal statements indicating that I owed between R780 and R1 000 for water and sanitation,” she said.
Mulaudzi said she felt she was not taken seriously by housing officials when she enquired what was going on with her house and what the bills were for.
“They told me I was still on the waiting list and would be contacted when ongoing housing developments were completed,” said Mulaudzi.
The excited homeowner said she was happy all that was now behind her and everything had been sorted out after having struggled for so long.
“I can’t describe how happy I am. It has finally happened sooner than I thought it would,” she said.
“It will still need some touch-ups. There is no geyser yet, but I will make a plan and get a large electric water boiler.
“I really can’t complain because I have a place to call my own now and will no longer worry about how my son and I will survive on my small salary, most of which went towards rental for a flat in the city centre,” said Mulaudzi.
The house is not the same one she had been receiving statements for, but is located elsewhere within the same area.
The only dampener is that she could not purchase prepaid electricity as the house had been registered under someone else’s name and the account is in arrears.
Meanwhile, the Gauteng Human Settlements Department also clarified the issue of Jacob Sibanyoni, another resident who was supposed to be among Suiderberg’s initial 299 dwellers, but has not yet been allocated a house.
Department spokesman Motsamai Motlhaolwa said records showed that Sibanyoni applied for the low-cost housing in 2006.
However, Motlhaolwa said they could not assist him as the first phase of the project only consisted of 299 houses, but there were 714 approved beneficiaries.
“It was decided to prioritise beneficiaries who were staying at Concern (Jeffsville) informal settlement. The intention was do away with the informal settlement.
“In addition, the elderly and disabled beneficiaries were prioritised in accordance with the national allocation guidelines,” he said.
Pretoria News