Durban - Those people who sold the government’s RDP houses for profit would face the full wrath of the law.
This was the stern warning from the Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, during her visit to the multibillion-rand Cornubia Housing Project north of Durban on Saturday. She was there assessing progress made since the project was launched last year by President Jacob Zuma.
A visibly enraged Sisulu told guests who had gathered at Cornubia that her department would come down hard on people who sold their Reconstruction and Development Programme houses. She said selling them delayed the government’s mission of wiping out informal settlements.
“Let me say to you, we are going to be harsh on people who cheat the system. One of the things we are considering is instituting criminal charges against those who sell RDP houses for their own gain.”
Recipients of the RDP houses were only eligible to sell their houses after eight years of ownership, and only to the government, she said.
“Sell your houses to the government so we can re-issue it to someone else.”
The project has been marred by controversies with uMkhonto weSizwe veterans invading some of the units in March, claiming that they had been sidelined from the project.
A staggering R25 billion has been set aside for the project, which is expected to run for 25 years, potentially yielding 28 000 residential units.
Thabiso Mokoena, chairman of uMkhonto weSizwe in ward 102, incorporating Mount Edgecombe, Verulam and Durban North, laid bare their concerns to the minister. “We registered for RDP houses more than 20 years ago, but we are yet to be allocated a house. But people who registered for RDP houses way after us have been given houses. This is not fair because we fought for this country and we deserve something in return. We cannot wait anymore because we have waited too long,” he said.
In response, Sisulu promised to talk to the veterans to find an amicable solution to their grievances.
“I wouldn’t like for my soldiers to be called ‘invaders’. These are people of honour, respect, humbleness, dignity… I will sit down with them and find ways of dealing with this.”
Sisulu also visited the beneficiaries of the units.
Naren Rajhunee, 38, said: “I would like to thank you for giving me this house. I use to stay in a collapsing shack, but now I have a home and all thanks to you,” he said to Sisulu.
Also attending were the MEC of human settlements in KZN, Ravi Pillay, speaker of eThekwini Municipality, Logie Naidoo, and Nigel Gumede, chairman of the human settlements committee in the eThekwini Municipality.
“We as black people did not have the privileges of owning houses. So now that the government is trying its best to provide us with houses, let’s take good care of them,” Sisulu said.
Sunday Tribune