The eThekwini Municipality will write off R2.7 million in pre-1994 historical debt owed by 891 Wiggins Masxha Housing Project homeowners.

The eThekwini Human Settlements, Engineering and Transport committee presented a report to the eThekwini council to apply the enhanced extended discount benefit scheme to the housing project, and write off the balance of property value and close the project for beneficiaries who benefited through the project-linked subsidy.

The committee report stated that approximately 891 properties in Wiggins and Masxha still require title deeds, and that the beneficiaries affected have expressed dissatisfaction with unmet promises in this regard.

The committee added that the beneficiaries’ property debts are accumulating and that the properties in question were incorrectly approved as Project Link Strategy instead of the pre-1994 benefit scheme. The report stated that the debts of property owners have, therefore, increased, but they can be assisted by clearing them through the implementation of the scheme.

Explaining the mathematics and calculations behind the write-off, the committee stated that the selling price for Wiggins Masxha Housing Project was fixed at R35,000 per property. The benefit scheme amount was R31,929, leaving a shortfall of R3,071, which totals approximately R2.7 million.

The committee explained that affected homeowners were to pay R35,000 to the municipality to obtain their title deeds, but due to their indigent status, they could not afford to pay this amount.

Council approved that the balance of R3,071 be written off in line with the Credit Control and Debt Collection Policy.

Councillors also noted the challenges relating to the processing of the title deeds for the housing project, related to the purchase price set at R35,000, which is above the subsidy quantum of the benefit scheme.

Background

In 1993, people invaded approximately 800 houses along Dunbar Road and adjoining roads, giving it the name Masxha. The three-bedroom homes had been set aside by the then House of Delegates for people on a beneficiary list.

However, before the houses could be completed and handed over to their rightful owners, people from Chesterville invaded and occupied them.

Some of the invaders were homeless and took over incomplete houses, while other invaders, who were already homeowners, simply exploited the situation.

After a long dispute between the housing authorities and the occupants, it was decided to develop another 800 homes in Bonella for the original beneficiaries.

In a news report, then KwaZulu-Natal housing and local government MEC Mike Mabuyakhulu said the housing department and municipality could have evicted all the illegal occupants of the Masxha housing project, but had opted to legalise the situation because of the socio-economic condition in the Wiggins area.

The houses were marked down to R35,000, but the government subsidised each unit to the tune of R32,000 in line with the benefit scheme. Back then, the occupants were told to pay R4,600 in transfer costs to become legal homeowners.

zainul.dawood@inl.co.za

Source link