RDP houses still “under construction”

The problem of dilapidated and incomplete RDP houses in the region is continuing and beneficiaries are becoming more and more frustrated with the lack of progress.

There are still many incomplete, unoccupied and partially vandalised RDP houses in Midoroni,Tshikota, Tshakhuma and Mashau. Many of the RDP houses in the area do not have doors, roofs and windows. The beneficiaries claim they cannot complete the houses by using their own money, citing poverty and unemployment.

Construction of the houses stopped as long as 12 year ago and residents claim that contractors abandoned the project after the government failed to pay them. Some residents allege that contractors simply vanished after being paid, before completing the houses.

One of the beneficiaries, 66-year-old pensioner Mr Paulos Fhetani of Midoroni, said he had hoped to die with dignity while living in his own house. “It is painful, because we had hopes of becoming better people. Our hearts are aching.” Fhetani said he was struggling to take care of his family. “I wish I had money. I could have completed my house, which was left uncompleted in 2002.”

Fhetani currently lives in a two-roomed schack, which is also in a state of near collapse. He says this poses a danger to the lives of the family members, especially during the rainy season. He said they had notified a local ward councillor about their plight, but no action had been taken. “The structure of the RDP house which has been standing in the yard has finally collapsed due to heavy rains as it seems cheap building materials were used,” he said.

Another disgruntled resident, Mr Mike Mpilo, stays in a two-room shack with his wife and seven young children. “I was happy when they dug the foundation trenches in our yard. I thought my children would have their own rooms. Instead, people later came to refill the trenches because there was no money to complete the houses,” he said. He said that the contractors delivered building materials for two years before they started collecting the building material and gave it to another person.

The Democratic Alliance's councillor, Masilo Maphashe, described the situation as “fruitless and wasteful” expenditure. “The ANC government is fooling around with our people and should take responsibility for failing to monitor the project.”

Coghsta spokesperson Mr Selomo Motupa said a commitment had been made that all the projects in the province would be completed. He promised that the problem of incomplete RDP houses in the area would soon be a thing of the past. “I am quite aware of the RDP house problem in the province. I know that there are people who have been waiting for their houses for a long time and this was because the developers or contractors that were appointed were failing to complete the houses,” he said. “Government has the money to build houses for the people, but contractors are letting us down,” he said.

Motupa said some 2 000 houses in the province still need to be completed. He appealed to the affected families to be patient while their problems are being attended to.

Date:25 September 2015

By: Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

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