100s left stranded in the rain

2008-11-20 16:07

Sydney Masinga

Emalahleni - The illegal occupants of a presidential housing project in Mpumalanga were forcefully evicted from the area on Wednesday.

They were not given alternative accommodation as it was the second time they had to be evicted from the Uthingo Park Project in Emalahleni (formerly Witbank) after rejecting an eviction order issued by the Pretoria High Court.

"We were kicked out of the houses by the Red Ants and dropped out here in the rain with no shelter or food. We have women, some of them pregnant and children here with us, where do they want us to go," asked Michael Makulane, one of the illegal occupants who was evicted.

He said they were left under trees about two kilometres from the project.

"They should at least have given us shelter and food. During the xenophobic attacks, foreigners were given shelter and food. What about us? Is it because South Africans are less important than foreigners," he complained.

They were evicted by the Red Ants on Wednesday on the instructions of the provincial department of housing and the Emalahleni Housing Institute (EHI), a section 21 company that was given the responsibility to manage the rental stock on behalf of government.

The illegal occupants had taken over 211 of the 1 131 units at the project, which was officially opened by former state president Thabo Mbeki in 2000.

Spokesperson of the provincial housing department, Simphiwe Kunene, said the reason the illegal occupants were not given alternative accommodation was because it was the second time they were evicted from the same area.

"Because it was the second time they had to be evicted, the eviction order against them stated that government was not obliged to give them alternative accommodation because they had been offered accommodation when they were first evicted last year," said Kunene on Wednesday.

The group was first evicted in the middle of last year and provided with alternative accommodation, but returned to Uthingo Park in January this year.

Spokesperson for the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Lebo Mofokeng, said the municipality had tried to resolve the problem of the illegal occupation, but had limited powers when it came to the affairs of Uthingo Park.

"If it was not for the municipality, these people would have been evicted a long time ago, but we had meetings with the EHI to try and find a solution to this issue. Unfortunately, nothing came out of it," said Mofokeng on Wednesday.

He advised the evicted people to contact the municipality who would try to find accommodation for them.

Chief whip of the Democratic Alliance in Mpumalanga, Clive Hatch, said the DA did not condone the illegal occupation of the houses, but neither did they condone the way in which they were evicted.

"We have written to the MEC for housing twice asking that she look into the matter. We wanted this matter resolved peacefully six weeks ago. Instead, the Uthingo community and the adjoining communities now face possible health issues, xenophobic attacks and racial violence. The lack of communication and the choice of relocation are disgraceful," he said.

EHI general manager Nambula Kamungoma could not be found for comment as her phone rang unanswered.

Kamungoma has previously said that the illegally occupied units had been vandalised and would cost about R27m to repair, without escalations.

On completion, the Uthingo Park project should have 5 000 housing units, as well as primary and secondary schools, community facilities and commercial centres.

About one quarter, or 1 250 of the units, are to be sold while the remainder will be rental stock targeting households earning between R1 500 and R7 500 per month.

The beneficiaries are meant to be people who earn too much to qualify for government-subsidised low-cost housing, but too little to afford home loans.

The houses include one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom units and levy costs are not meant to exceed 30% to 32% of the income of the beneficiaries.

- African Eye