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.