Durban - Sitting in her one room wood and iron home, an elderly mother recalls her plight in trying to get an RDP home since 1995.
For over two decades, Moganyagi Pillay, 58, who lives with her sickly husband, Muthray, 66, and unemployed son, Perumal, 38, in an informal settlement in Malagazi, said all she wanted was a roof over their heads. “But that is too much to ask,” she said.
“We used to rent small outbuildings in Isipingo but the landlords demanded we vacate the premises because we were unable to pay the rent. When the municipality told us we would be allocated RDP homes, we thought things would finally change.
"But 20 years have passed. Where are the homes we’ve been promised?”
Pillay, who suffered a stroke, said they purchased a wood and iron home for R5000 after her husband, who worked as a supervisor in a shoe factory, retired more than 10 years ago.
“Other than the pensioner’s grant my husband collects and my temporary disability grant, there is no other income coming in. We can barely make it to buy electricity or have enough food for the month.
“We don’t have clean water as we collect it directly from the pipelines. We also don’t have proper toilet facilities.
"Our dream is to get the homes we were promised. It is not fair when people, who applied a year ago, are already living comfortable in their RDP houses? What about us?”
Perumal said: “When prospective employees find out I don’t have the qualifications or live in an informal settlement, they turn me away.”
The family of three is hopeful new President, Cyril Ramaphosa, can investigate corruption with RPD housing schemes, they said.