The Abahlali baseMjondolo (Residents of the Shacks) movement has weighed in on South Africa’s growing housing backlog, a matter which has fueled tensions in communities, with some calling it a ticking time bomb as populations bulge around urban areas.

On Wednesday, IOL reported that Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, addressed the hot topic of foreign nationals living in RDP houses, which in law are meant for economically disadvantaged South African nationals.

In South Africa, an RDP house refers to a dwelling built and provided by the government to low-income families as part of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP).

Simelane said there is an upheaval of complaints from community members about RDP houses occupied by foreign nationals. The minister clarified that an RDP house can be sold, but only to a deserving South African national who is economically challenged.

In an interview with IOL, Thapelo Mohapi, general secretary of the grassroots movement Abahlali baseMjondolo, said his organisation is firmly against the sale of the government-issued houses to non-deserving people.

He said Abahlali baseMjondolo has observed that some recipients of the RDP houses sell the properties to civil servants and migrants who would not qualify to get the houses from the state.

“On the issue of houses being sold, of course, we are against the fact that houses must be sold to people who do not qualify. Sometimes they are sold to civil servants, sometimes they are sold to migrants, and that is not the right way to go,” Mohapi told IOL.

“But the reason that this is happening is because of the failure of the government to meaningfully engage with the people about their (housing) developments. So, people will be relocated to the peripheries – 20 to 50 kilometers away from the economic hub.”

He said informal settlements have emerged around various cities across South Africa because people are trying to be closer to economic hubs, in a desperate bid to generate income while saving on travel costs.

“Informal settlements strategically exist in these areas so that people can be closer to the places of economic activities, so they can find jobs, and they can improve their lives. We believe people from the rural areas come to the cities to seek better opportunities. When the government builds us houses in faraway places, of course, we will accept those houses and then we will rent them out, and come to live in the areas where we have always wanted to live,” said Mohapi.

“This happens because there is no consultation, there is no meaningful engagement with the people, and this a perception that has been created by the government, that the people who are living in shacks cannot think for themselves. At some points, they hire consultants who live in the suburbs to come and think, and finish on behalf of the people.”

He argued that if the government held meaningful consultations with the house recipients, it would eradicate the selling or renting of RDP houses to undeserving people.

“We are saying, if there is meaningful engagement with people, on the ground, and people are involved in their own development, these sorts of problems would not be there,” said Mohapi.

“The selling of houses that are meant for the poor to people who can afford to build their homes is wrong, but it is because of the failure and the lack of political will to deal with the issue of the houses, where government is not engaging meaningfully with the people and it assumes that people want houses that are in the periphery. That is something that we have raised with government officials many times, to say there must be engagement with the people about their development.”

Abahlali baseMjondolo describes itself as a movement of the poor in South Africa.

“We are an autonomous, democratic, membership-based social movement comprising more than 150,000 members, operating in 93 branches in four provinces. We are committed to building the democratic power of the oppressed from below, and using our collective strength to create a world in which land, wealth, and power are shared fairly,” the movement said.

“Our politics is rooted in a universal commitment to affirming and defending human dignity as we struggle for land and housing, to foster communities of care, self-nourishment, and solidarity.”

On the other hand, the government describes the RDP housing programme as a socio-economic policy that was first proposed and passed in 1994 under the new leadership of then-president Nelson Mandela. It was aimed at providing government-subsidised housing that transformed communities in need and provided upliftment out of homelessness and poverty.

Provision of decent houses to all South Africans has been one of the main objectives of the ANC government since it rose to power, replacing the apartheid government in 1994. Millions of houses and services stands have been provided, but the queue of citizens awaiting allocation is increasing rapidly, leading to tempers flaring.

On Wednesday, Simelane told broadcaster Newzroom Afrika an RDP house can be legally sold, with stringent conditions.

“What does our policy say? Our policy says yes, after 10 years of occupation, you can sell the house, but you need to sell it to a South African who is part of the policy cover,” said Simelane.

She emphasised that being South African does not mean any citizen can also buy an RDP house.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL News  

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