Johannesburg - Residents of Kwazenzele informal settlement near Endicott, in Lesedi Local Municipality, are still living in squalor with no access to sanitation due to the slow pace of the housing project in the area that was mooted eight years ago.
The project, which is part of the Gauteng Mega Project, was implemented in 2013. It was expected to build 2 800 low-cost houses, including flats. However, only 10 houses and 10 flats were built last year before the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Residents who were part of the community leadership at the time, Mopostoli Mthimunye and Dumisani Shabangu are now saying the project will have to start from scratch after the contractor was fired for poor performance, causing more delays.
“For us it has never been a problem to fire those guys because they didn’t do anything since they were appointed. As residents, we have protested that the contractor was not performing. But after that contractor was fired, there was never a way forward as to who was going to replace that company,” said Mthimunye.
The houses have since been vandalised by thieves and drug addicts. They were stripped of roofs, window panes and door frames. In the meantime, the residents continue to suffer.
The Sunday Independent visited the area this week and found a dire situation that is worsened by poverty. There is no running water and electricity in the area. Residents also use pit latrines.
Julia Maseko, 56, was covered by a cloud of smoke as she was cooking pumpkin on a stove, using fire wood. “I have been living like this since I arrived in this area in 2004. This is a difficult life because there’s nothing here,” she said. Heavy rains wreaked havoc in some parts of the country over the last two weeks, and Maseko also found herself a victim after water flooded her shack.
“I had to open at the corner for water to flow out. There was water all over my house, and the yard looked like a dam. This is sad because only the government can change this situation. I was happy when they promised to build us houses in 2013. It is painful to suffer like this while we have a government,” said Maseko.
Enni Thoko, 60, echoed Maseko’s sentiments, adding: “We are living like animals here. Look how water had entered my home. My son had to open a furrow for this water. This is sad because we have been waiting for decent houses for years”.
Molefe Mkhwebane feels the government does not take their plight seriously. “It’s like we are pigs. There is Covid19 but we still have to share taps. We are not able to wash our hands regularly like other people. Everything is bad here.”
The 52-year-old father of four added that the level of unemployment had also led to uncontrollable crime.
“In the evenings it’s worse because there are no street lights. We asked the municipality to give us street lights but they refused. We are really fed up now,” he said.
Gauteng Human Settlements spokesperson Castro Ngobese said the total budget for the project was R92 million, including the construction of piped water, sewers and roads.
He said an amount of R12.9m had been paid to the developer for the installation of services. “Necessary planning processes preceded the actual construction on site. Planning processes such as a geotechnical investigation and environmental impact assessment took longer than expected,” said Ngobese.
Ngobese said his department was aware the structures had been vandalised and said the necessary resources were in place to complete the houses.
Lesedi Local Municipality mayor Lerato Maloka did not respond to questions sent on Wednesday.
The Sunday Independent