Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality should take swift action in addressing housing crisis
5 April 2016
More than 200 residents in Port Elizabeth took to the streets yesterday, blocking major roads to protest against delays in the rebuilding and refurbishment of houses that had been promised by the municipality.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, in concert with part-time NMB Mayor, Danny Jordaan, needs to ensure that these grievances are addressed with all due gravity. In doing so she must ensure that the Municipality properly utilises its Housing Rectification Grants for the benefit of those who need homes the most. The South African constitution clearly states that “everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing”, yet the ANC has continued to show blatant disregard for both the Constitution, and the people of South Africa by consistently governing like black lives don’t matter.
The protestors of NU12B blocked the R334 and R335 roads to Addon and Uitehage, in a bid to air their grievances at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality which had, two years ago, embarked on a programme to rebuild hundreds of RDP houses which had been badly built in the first place. The residents were moved into shacks in their own backyards when their houses began crumbling. It is now six months later, and nothing has changed. The construction company responsible for the rectification of the 97 houses, Uphahla Construction, says that the delays are the consequence of a problem with payment by the municipality. As of March 2016, the municipality’s housing backlog amounted to roughly 80 000 homes, with another 40 000 awaiting rectification.
In stark contrast is the DA-run Theewaterskloof Municipality, which is on track to complete a very successful housing rectification project in Slangpark and Villiersdorp, where a total of 731 homes were identified for rectification after poor workmanship on the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), which the ANC government left with leaky roofs and damp walls. Both projects will see a total of 731 homes rectified by the end of June 2017. The province has set aside R 21.1 million to this end.
It is estimated that just under a third of the RDP houses built between 2002 and 2010 were either sub-standard or uninhabitable, by the standards of their occupants.
In the Local Government Elections this year, the DA will continue to strive for the upliftment of the residents we serve, especially those in poor communities. By voting for a DA government this year, South Africans will ensure that they are served by a party that respects and serves them, whilst upholding the Constitution of the country.
Issued by Kevin Mileham, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 5 April 2016
