THREE DECADES OF LIVING IN A SHACK NOW HISTORY
Published: April 15, 2025<< BACK TO NEWS
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14 April 2025
THREE
DECADES OF LIVING IN A SHACK NOW HISTORY
More than three decades of living in a
shack without the right to own land or property will be a painful past that
Nonkosi Koom (62) would like to forget after the Nelson Mandela Bay
Municipality Executive Mayor, Councillor Babalwa Lobishe handed over 24 houses
to the beneficiaries of Red Location on Monday, 14 April 2025.
Koom was one of the beneficiaries of the
Red Location who have been living in shacks.
The 24 houses handed over are part of
the total of 171 houses that will be built in the area.
The Red Location Project forms part of
the greater Red Location Museum precinct.
The beneficiaries have been living in shacks
for several years while waiting for the houses to be built as part of the
greater Red Location project that approved to address the historical imbalances
of houses in the area.
The project construction was supposed to
have been completed by now, but due to consultation delays about the design and
size of the houses, the project is still ongoing. Some of the delays are caused
by subsidy approvals for joint house subsidies. The original completion date
was 18 September 2024.
Speaking at the handover event, NMBM Executive
Mayor, Cllr Babalwa Lobishe said the delivery of the houses was a confirmation
that the current government keeps its promises.
"We were here four years ago to brief
you about this project. We have been walking this journey with you all these
years. Today we have started to deliver with these 24 houses, and more houses
will follow as per the R14 million budget approval,” said Executive Mayor
Lobishe.
The Executive Mayor pleaded with the
beneficiaries to take care of the houses. "Now that we have kept our part of the
deal, please take care of these houses as they will now be your responsibility,”
said Executive Mayor Lobishe.
A housing beneficiary, Nonkosi Koom said
she was satisfied that she is getting a house after all these years of waiting.
"I will now own a property and have a title deed for my house for the first
time in my life. I have been moved from place to place due to the unsuitable
conditions of our shacks and areas that we occupied, but have kept the faith
that one day I will get a house,” said Koom.
Cllr Mafana said the NMBM Human
Settlements Directorate was in talks with both the Provincial and National
government for more funding to complete the projects. "We will continue to
deliver houses in a manner that has got a heart and a human face. In every
project that we deliver, there must be elderly, physically challenged, child-headed
and other vulnerable sectors of the society,” said Cllr Mafana.
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