Pretoria – Gauteng MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements Paul Mashatile has warned the community of Nellmapius in Mamelodi against occupying houses illegally.
“I am not going to tolerate housing invasion. It is wrong and it should not be done. Government is going to allocate houses properly. Do not allocate yourselves,” said MEC Mashatile.
He was addressing the community of Nellmapius during the handover of more than 900 houses on Thursday.
He condemned the house invasions that occurred earlier this year in Nellmapius Ext 22.
The Nellmapius project will yield more than 1 800 houses on completion and 500 houses will be for rental stock to accommodate people who do not qualify for RDP houses.
“There are more than 900 families who qualify to benefit from this project without any dispute. Government must be able to explain to those people who are not getting their houses why they are not getting them.
“Priority will be given to people who applied in 1996, people with disabilities, special cases, the elderly and military veterans,” MEC Mashatile said.
A mixed housing project has been approved for Nellmapius, which will form part of Mega City Projects that is in the pipeline. The project will yield 12 500 houses upon completion.
Government will also introduce a biometric system to end corruption in the allocation of houses.
“Government is going to use fingerprints to verify the identity of beneficiaries and in the allocation of stands so that people can monitor the development of their houses,” said MEC Mashatile.
He urged the community of Nellmapius to take ownership of their homes by ensuring that they do not allow anyone to invade vacant land because it might be earmarked for development.
“If we don’t work together, we will not be able to eradicate informal settlements because the numbers keep increasing,” he said.
Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga, who was among the principals accompanying MEC Mashatile, said there must be transparency in the allocation of houses and people should know where they are on the waiting list.
“Let us try to restore the dignity of our people. Let us be transparent and work together and we will not fail. We also need to ensure that we speed up the provision of services to our communities,” said Mayor Msimanga.
Queen Mnguni, a beneficiary, said she was excited to have her own house because she has been living at the back room of her parents’ house with her two children.
“I am very excited. It was not nice to stay at my parents’ house at the age of 54. God has answered my prayers. I would like to thank the government of Gauteng for giving me a place I can call home,” said Mnguni. - SAnews.gov.za
