The minister of Human Settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, was greeted by an angry mob yesterday as he arrived at the launch of the Lufhereng housing development near Protea Glen in Soweto.
He was met by more than 1,000 Soweto Bureau for Sustainable Settlement (Sobuse) members who were protesting on the road demanding that they too be allocated houses.
Some Sobuse members said they had been on the waiting list for houses since 1996, but were overlooked when houses were allocated.
When the crowd saw Sexwale they all ran to him singing:
He was met by more than 1,000 Soweto Bureau for Sustainable Settlement (Sobuse) members who were protesting on the road demanding that they too be allocated houses.
Some Sobuse members said they had been on the waiting list for houses since 1996, but were overlooked when houses were allocated.
When the crowd saw Sexwale they all ran to him singing:
Awulethe isikhiya sam (bring me my key).
Sexwale calmed the angry Soweto residents and told them he only found out about them yesterday in the media.
"You did not call me here; I came on my own," he said.
"I don't know about your issues - no one told me about them."
Sexwale urged the leadership of the group to give him a report of their grievances.
"I want the full story of why you are demonstrating," he said.
While Sexwale was addressing the crowd, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane joined him on the side of the road.
Some people in the crowd shouted that they wanted their houses from Mokonyane.
"We need to sit down and discuss our own issues. We are not enemies," Mokonyane said.
"Our common enemy is poverty, hunger, unemployment and homelessness."
She told the crowd that the issue of houses in Soweto was not going to be resolved in one day, but asked them to work together with the government to fight corruption.
"If you have evidence of corruption, bring it forward and we will deal with it," she said to loud cheers.
She told the people that the issue of waiting lists was a problem in the whole country, but said there were plans in place to address this.
Six first-time home owners were handed their houses. Three of the beneficiaries first applied for their houses in 1996.
Elizabeth Mpeqeka, 75, who had been staying at the Protea South informal settlement for 16 years, was the first recipient of the four-roomed houses.
The elderly woman who had been staying with her two grandchildren at the shack was overwhelmed with emotion and said she was "extremely happy" that she had finally received her house.
MMC for Housing Ruby Mathang told those who had not received their houses that if they were on the waiting list of 1996 and 1997 their turn was going to come.
"We are keeping our promise of allocating houses to the beneficiaries who are first priority," he said.
The beneficiaries are Protea South residents who are living in a dolomite area, the Soweto 1996/1997 waiting list and the Doornkop farming community who now occupy the development land.
Lufhereng, which is the first mixed housing development in Soweto, is expected to provide 24,000 housing opportunities for residents of the greater Soweto area.
Housing products planned for Lufhereng include RDP housing, affordable housing for low-income households and fully bonded products for middle-to-high income groups.
Provision will be made for 15 primary and three secondary schools and about 60 community facilities.
There will also be an agricultural component of the project which will focus on small-scale intensive field farming and other agricultural activities.
It is expected to create approximately 10,000 job opportunities. The project will incorporate the existing Doornkop farmers as well as new aspiring farmers.
Meanwhile, 19 Sobuse residents arrested during a protest at Lufhereng on Sunday were released on their own recognisances at the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court yesterday.
- The Star
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