CAPE TOWN - AFTER a decade of struggling for houses of their own, Gugulethu backyarders allege that the chairperson of a housing project they established has conned them out of hundreds of thousands of rands and replaced their names on the beneficiary list with those of her family and friends.
The 52 backyarders are part of an initial group of 300 backyarders who started putting their savings together in 2001 in order to obtain houses in a People's Housing Project.
The group of 300, who initially called themselves the Gugulethu RDP Housing Project, appointed Pumla Dlokolo as chairperson and approached the Provincial Housing Department with their savings in 2006.
Dlokolo had told them that R2500 was required for a two-room house, and up to R5 000 for a larger house.
Upon their submission to the Housing Department, under MEC Richard Dyantyi at the time, erven were obtained in Eerste Rivier and a 600-unit housing project, named the Our Pride Housing Project, was given the go-ahead.
It was completed in 2010, with an official handover to beneficiaries having occurred in December last year.
However, 52 of the original 300 Gugulethu Backyarders have still not received houses.
It has also emerged that the Housing Department never required money from beneficiaries to be paid over.
Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela's spokesperson Bruce Oom last week said: "The beneficiaries did not have to pay the department a fee to be a part of the project".
Oom said "beneficiaries do not pay towards the houses," except "that beneficiaries should contribute 'sweat equity' or play a part in the building of the houses.
Oom confirmed that no money had been received from Dlokolo.
Yet coordinator of the group of 52 calling themselves the Gugulethu Concerned Backyarders, Pamela Lefane, said she has poured over R5 000 in savings into the project and has nothing to show for it.
Lefane said those who got involved in the PHP project at its inception in 2001 paid R2500 in order to receive a two-bedroom house in, and paid up to R5 000 for a larger home.
Yet the 52 backyarders say they have never received any money back from Dlokolo.
Additionally, Gugulethu Concerned Backyarders said Dlokolo strong-armed them out of the project despite them having paid over their money.
Nocekisani Phangalele, 43, said she joined the Gugulethu RDP Housing Project in 2001 hoping that she would own a house in the future.
But Phangalele said she was kicked out of the project by Dlokolo on the grounds that she failed to attend meetings.
She said she has a large family and so paid in R5000 to receive a larger house, but was kicked out of the project a "few months" before the handing over of the houses in December last year.
She said she believes Dlokolo sold the house that was supposed to be hers.
"I want my money back if I am not going to get the house I deserve," she said.
The backyarders believe Dlokolo has also replaced their names on the beneficiary list with those of friends and family who are now living in the Our Pride Housing Project, and is selling vacant houses and renting out others for R1 000 a month.
Dlokolo admitted that a total of seven of her family and children had benefited from the Our Pride Housing Project but said they had applied just like everyone else.
"They (the children) applied on their own and they received houses. I would not have stopped them when they felt like applying. They have ID's and it is in their constitutional right to apply for these houses."
Dlokolo said she is subject to intimidations and insults from the backyarders.
Asked why were the complaining backyarders not part of the beneficiary list, Dlokolo said "they were expelled from the project because they failed to adhere to the constitution of the organisation. We pleaded with them many times and then we decided to expel them."
Asked why she took the money from the beneficiaries, Dlokolo said "I am giving the money back to the people and most of them have received their money".
"I was taking the money so that it may be easy for people who needed bigger house or extend their houses," said Dlokolo.
Oom said Madikizela was aware that original beneficiaries had not received houses and the department was "looking at different options in order to accommodate the original beneficiaries".
But this is yet to happen "the department needs to follow correct procedures in finding solutions".
The Department was also "aware that many people were unfairly removed as beneficiaries for not attending meetings. Minister Madikizela is personally aware of the issue, and has instructed that the original beneficiaries need to be accommodated.
"In order to be accommodated, the beneficiaries will need to provide authenticated proof that they were on the original beneficiary list," said Oom.
He said the department recognizes "there have been some difficulties in implementing PHP projects" and one of their approaches to mitigate these issues is the introduction of Professional Resource Teams to assist in the managing of the housing projects.
- allAfrica
The 52 backyarders are part of an initial group of 300 backyarders who started putting their savings together in 2001 in order to obtain houses in a People's Housing Project.
The group of 300, who initially called themselves the Gugulethu RDP Housing Project, appointed Pumla Dlokolo as chairperson and approached the Provincial Housing Department with their savings in 2006.
Dlokolo had told them that R2500 was required for a two-room house, and up to R5 000 for a larger house.
Upon their submission to the Housing Department, under MEC Richard Dyantyi at the time, erven were obtained in Eerste Rivier and a 600-unit housing project, named the Our Pride Housing Project, was given the go-ahead.
It was completed in 2010, with an official handover to beneficiaries having occurred in December last year.
However, 52 of the original 300 Gugulethu Backyarders have still not received houses.
It has also emerged that the Housing Department never required money from beneficiaries to be paid over.
Housing MEC Bonginkosi Madikizela's spokesperson Bruce Oom last week said: "The beneficiaries did not have to pay the department a fee to be a part of the project".
Oom said "beneficiaries do not pay towards the houses," except "that beneficiaries should contribute 'sweat equity' or play a part in the building of the houses.
Oom confirmed that no money had been received from Dlokolo.
Yet coordinator of the group of 52 calling themselves the Gugulethu Concerned Backyarders, Pamela Lefane, said she has poured over R5 000 in savings into the project and has nothing to show for it.
Lefane said those who got involved in the PHP project at its inception in 2001 paid R2500 in order to receive a two-bedroom house in, and paid up to R5 000 for a larger home.
Yet the 52 backyarders say they have never received any money back from Dlokolo.
Additionally, Gugulethu Concerned Backyarders said Dlokolo strong-armed them out of the project despite them having paid over their money.
Nocekisani Phangalele, 43, said she joined the Gugulethu RDP Housing Project in 2001 hoping that she would own a house in the future.
But Phangalele said she was kicked out of the project by Dlokolo on the grounds that she failed to attend meetings.
She said she has a large family and so paid in R5000 to receive a larger house, but was kicked out of the project a "few months" before the handing over of the houses in December last year.
She said she believes Dlokolo sold the house that was supposed to be hers.
"I want my money back if I am not going to get the house I deserve," she said.
The backyarders believe Dlokolo has also replaced their names on the beneficiary list with those of friends and family who are now living in the Our Pride Housing Project, and is selling vacant houses and renting out others for R1 000 a month.
Dlokolo admitted that a total of seven of her family and children had benefited from the Our Pride Housing Project but said they had applied just like everyone else.
"They (the children) applied on their own and they received houses. I would not have stopped them when they felt like applying. They have ID's and it is in their constitutional right to apply for these houses."
Dlokolo said she is subject to intimidations and insults from the backyarders.
Asked why were the complaining backyarders not part of the beneficiary list, Dlokolo said "they were expelled from the project because they failed to adhere to the constitution of the organisation. We pleaded with them many times and then we decided to expel them."
Asked why she took the money from the beneficiaries, Dlokolo said "I am giving the money back to the people and most of them have received their money".
"I was taking the money so that it may be easy for people who needed bigger house or extend their houses," said Dlokolo.
Oom said Madikizela was aware that original beneficiaries had not received houses and the department was "looking at different options in order to accommodate the original beneficiaries".
But this is yet to happen "the department needs to follow correct procedures in finding solutions".
The Department was also "aware that many people were unfairly removed as beneficiaries for not attending meetings. Minister Madikizela is personally aware of the issue, and has instructed that the original beneficiaries need to be accommodated.
"In order to be accommodated, the beneficiaries will need to provide authenticated proof that they were on the original beneficiary list," said Oom.
He said the department recognizes "there have been some difficulties in implementing PHP projects" and one of their approaches to mitigate these issues is the introduction of Professional Resource Teams to assist in the managing of the housing projects.
- allAfrica
No comments:
Post a Comment