Vandals strip R42-million Gqeberha housing project

Each of these nearly 600 “temporary residential units” in Walmer township, Gqeberha, cost over R70,000. Many have been vandalised and stripped of fixtures. Photo: Thamsanqa Mbovane.

• 580 temporary housing units erected in Walmer township last year at a cost of R42-million were left unoccupied and many have been vandalised and stripped of fixtures.
• 108 have lawful occupants and 300 unlawful occupants.
• People relocated to the units say they live in fear and hear looters at work at night.
• The National Department of Human Settlements says the municipality terminated the security company’s contract and replaced it with Expanded Public Works Programme employees as guards.
• The municipality says it is awaiting the outcome of a court eviction application.

“When I drove past this area in December last year, it was beautiful,” says resident Malibongwe “Daki” Tshanga, indicating a temporary housing site on Erf 1948 in Walmer township, Gqeberha.

The 580 “temporary residential units” were erected last year at the spectacular cost of R42-million.

They were left unoccupied and many have now been vandalised and stripped of fixtures.

Of the 580, 108 now have lawful and 300 unlawful occupants, according to the municipality.

“You can’t build in a secluded place with few occupants. In January this year, my prediction had materialised – no roofs, no doors, no windows, and most of the material was hidden in the bush by criminals still searching for buyers,” said Tshanga.

“This is a waste of money … Someone needs to be accountable for this mess,” he said.

Thamsanqa Mcetywa says he was relocated by the municipality from Marikana informal settlement a year ago, while he waits for a house in Airport Valley.

“We are now living in fear in this place … At night, we hear sounds of hammers as looters remove doors, windows, and roofs.”

“There was a security company that guarded this area for two months, a year ago, but a looting spree erupted when the guards left,” he said.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM) spokesperson Sithembiso Soyaya said the project was funded by the national Department of Human Settlements which directly appointed the contractors. The “municipality was not involved in the procurement or pricing processes”.

“While the land belongs to us, we serve as the custodians on behalf of the residents, supporting the national and provincial human settlements department in ensuring orderly relocation and management of the site.

“The municipality is awaiting the outcome of a court eviction application.”

He said “safety and security officials have been deployed to the site to maintain order and protect municipal property”.

Minister of Human Settlements’ spokesperson Tsekiso Machike said once construction was completed, allocation of units to beneficiaries and security of the structures was the responsibility of the municipality.

He said the municipality had hired a contractor to guard the site but “subsequently, terminated the services of this security company and replaced it with Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) workers as guards”.

He said his department was committed to undertaking a project to fix the vandalised units after an assessment of the damages that should be undertaken by the municipality.

The department confirmed that the simple, top structures, each little more than a formal shack, cost R75,315 each.

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