Residents of Reconstruction and Development Programme houses in Kuyasa, Khayelitsha, say their houses are in such a poor state of repair that they fear the walls could collapse in on them.
The foundations, they report, are not secure, and water leaks from the ceiling and seeps in from below, leaving the homes permanently dank and wet.
They say the houses smell bad and that they are concerned about the growth of mould.
From a health perspective, they charge, the houses are dangerous too, promoting lung infections like tuberculosis, asthma and pneumonia.
Resident Veliswa Poni, 36, is a mother of three and says that the health of her 14-year-old daughter is deteriorating because of the conditions in which they are being forced to live.
A tearful Poni said: "My child is sick with asthma and suffers from lung infections. The doctors say it is the cold that makes her sick. This is so bad."
Some time ago the child was admitted to hospital as a result of her illness.
Another resident, 59-year-old Thozani Kala, has TB and says he has given up hope that help will come.
He said that, since he got his house, his health had deteriorated significantly.
"When it rains outside, it also rains inside my house. I tried to get someone to repair it but he said that if you use a hammer on one side of the house, the other side collapses.
"When they tried, a brick fell out and nearly hit my three-year-old grandchild," he said.
"I've lost all hope now. Help will probably come after 10 years when I'm dead," he said.
Ward councillor for the area, Nolufefe Gexa, said she had no idea that the situation was so bad.
"If I had known I promise I would have talked to the people in charge of housing. But I will go to the area and follow up the matter, and then report it to the housing department," she said.
- Cape Argus
The foundations, they report, are not secure, and water leaks from the ceiling and seeps in from below, leaving the homes permanently dank and wet.
They say the houses smell bad and that they are concerned about the growth of mould.
From a health perspective, they charge, the houses are dangerous too, promoting lung infections like tuberculosis, asthma and pneumonia.
Resident Veliswa Poni, 36, is a mother of three and says that the health of her 14-year-old daughter is deteriorating because of the conditions in which they are being forced to live.
A tearful Poni said: "My child is sick with asthma and suffers from lung infections. The doctors say it is the cold that makes her sick. This is so bad."
Some time ago the child was admitted to hospital as a result of her illness.
Another resident, 59-year-old Thozani Kala, has TB and says he has given up hope that help will come.
He said that, since he got his house, his health had deteriorated significantly.
"When it rains outside, it also rains inside my house. I tried to get someone to repair it but he said that if you use a hammer on one side of the house, the other side collapses.
"When they tried, a brick fell out and nearly hit my three-year-old grandchild," he said.
"I've lost all hope now. Help will probably come after 10 years when I'm dead," he said.
Ward councillor for the area, Nolufefe Gexa, said she had no idea that the situation was so bad.
"If I had known I promise I would have talked to the people in charge of housing. But I will go to the area and follow up the matter, and then report it to the housing department," she said.
- Cape Argus
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