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By Manyane Manyane 
5h ago
Johannesburg – Residents of the informal settlement of Kwazenzele near Endicott, in the local municipality of Lesedi, still live in squalor without access to sanitation services due to the slow pace of the housing project in the area that was planned eight years ago.
The project, which is part of the Gauteng mega-project, was implemented in 2013. The construction of 2,800 low-cost houses, including apartments, was expected. However, only 10 houses and 10 apartments were built last year before the country was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Residents who were part of the community leadership at the time, Mopostoli Mthimunye and Dumisani Shabangu, now say the project will have to start from scratch after the contractor was fired for poor performance, leading to further delays.
“It’s never been a problem for us to fire those guys because they haven’t done anything since they were appointed. As residents, we have protested that the contractor was not complying. But after the contractor was laid off, there was never any way of knowing who would replace that company, ”Mthimunye said.
Since then, houses have been vandalized by thieves and drug addicts. The roofs, window panes and door frames were removed. Meanwhile, residents continue to suffer.
The Sunday Independent visited the area this week and found a desperate situation exacerbated by poverty. There is no running water or electricity in the area. Residents also use pit latrines.
Julia Maseko, 56, was covered in a cloud of smoke while cooking pumpkin on a stove, using firewood. “I have been living like this since I came to this area in 2004. It is a difficult life because there is nothing here,” he said. Heavy rains wreaked havoc in some parts of the country over the past two weeks, and Maseko also became a victim after the water flooded her hut.
“I had to open the corner for the water to come out. There was water all over my house and the garden looked like a dam. This is sad because only the government can change this situation. I was happy when they promised to build us houses in 2013. It is painful to suffer like this while we have a government, ”Maseko said.
Enni Thoko, 60, echoed Maseko’s sentiments, adding: “We are living like animals here. Look at how water got into my house. My son had to cut a furrow for this water. This is sad because we have been waiting years for decent houses ”.
Molefe Mkhwebane feels that the government is not taking his plight seriously. “It’s like we are pigs. Covid19 exists but we still have to share taps. We cannot wash our hands regularly like other people. Everything is wrong here. “
The 52-year-old father of four added that the level of unemployment had also led to uncontrollable crime.
“At night it’s worse because there are no streetlights. We asked the municipality to provide us with public lighting but they refused. We are really fed up now, ”he said.
Gauteng Human Settlements spokesman Castro Ngobese said the total project budget was R92 million, including the construction of piped water, sewerage and roads.
It said that an amount of R12.9 million had been paid to the developer for the installation of the services. “The necessary planning processes preceded the actual construction on the site. Planning processes, such as a geotechnical investigation and an environmental impact assessment, took longer than expected, ”said Ngobese.
Ngobese said his department knew the structures had been vandalized and said the resources were available to complete the houses.
The mayor of the local Lesedi municipality, Lerato Maloka, did not respond to questions sent on Wednesday.
Independent sunday
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