City of Johannesburg Mayor Dada Morero has dismissed suggestions that the handover of 48 Breaking New Ground (BNG), formerly RDP, houses at Dube Hostel in Soweto is part of the ANC’s election campaign ahead of next week’s local government elections.
Morero was speaking to the media alongside the MMC for Human Settlements, Mlungisi Mabaso, during the official handover of the housing units on Thursday.
The mayor insisted that the allocation was taking place at the appropriate time, saying the City had been working towards restoring the properties for several years.
“You see, that statement, I think the intention is to make us not do our work,” he said.
“We transferred them in 2019 and we have been setting aside budgets to try and restore [the houses].”
Morero acknowledged that the handover was taking place shortly before the elections but said beneficiaries would at least be able to make informed decisions when casting their votes.
“We finished just before the election for this group. We could have finished after the fourth [of November], but at least they will go to vote knowing their properties have been restored. Remember, their vote is their secret,” he said.
Meanwhile, the handover brought relief and excitement to beneficiaries who had waited for decades to receive their homes.
Sibongile Ntuli, who uses a wheelchair, said she was overwhelmed with joy after finally receiving a house following an 18-year wait.
“I’m so overjoyed, I don’t even know what to do because I have been waiting for too long. I applied in 2008. When I also applied while I was at home in KwaZulu-Natal, they would reject [the application] and say my house was on the waiting list in Johannesburg. But today is a big day. I’m so happy,” she said.
Ntuli, who will occupy the house with her four children, said the handover marked the end of a long and frustrating wait.
Another beneficiary, 64-year-old Mkhetheni Thomas Magasela, said he had been living at Dube Hostel since 1983 and had submitted several housing applications over the years.
He said he could no longer remember when he first applied for a house.
“I want to thank you. I didn’t know I would live long enough to see my house because some of my peers have died without getting a house,” he said.
The elections will take place in November 4.
