N2 Gateway key scandal

Residents of the government’s flagship N2 Gateway housing project are at the mercy of criminals because they have been issued with house keys that are the same as their neighbours.

A housing department spokesperson has confirmed that there are 25 keys that fit all 705 units in a variety of ways: either the front door keys are the same, or the front door key of one flat is the same as a back door key of another, or the bedroom key is the same as a neighbour’s front door key.

This means one key could open 28 units.

At least three people from the newly built flats in Joe Slovo, Langa, have been hit by criminals in the past few weeks after their homes were entered while they were asleep or away, raising the security issue in the first phase of the much publicised multi-billion project…

Compounding the situation are accusations that Thubelisha Homes, a company appointed by the national housing department to run the development, has refused to take responsibility for the losses and have allegedly ignored residents’ complaints.

Ndabambi said they would deal with the matter step by step and were now trying to get Richard Dyantyi, MEC for local government and housing, to intervene.

Thubelisha Homes refused to speak and referred Weekend Argus to the housing department. Weekend Argus