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Little done to change the lives of the poor: Mashaba

  • Mashaba says the structures are unsafe as a result of shoddy workmanship and do not cater for the disabled as promised.
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  • SABC News Herman Mashaba Twitter @HermanMashaba
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Action SA leader, Herman Mashaba says little has been done by government to change the lives of the poor and vulnerable. This comes after his visit to Attridgeville Extension 19 where residents are still awaiting their RDP homes they were promised three-years-ago.
The City of Tshwane had promised to build 40 low cost houses for the poor from the proceeds of the sale of the mayoral mansion which was sold for R5.1 million.
The mayoral mansion went under the hammer in 2017 with proceeds from the sale set to house the elderly and disabled. The project which was set to be completed in April this year but looks far from being finished with only a few occupants having moved in.

Mashaba says the structures are unsafe as a result of shoddy workmanship and do not cater for the disabled as promised.

“I cannot believe (almost) 27-years into our democracy, we cannot build quality houses, the toilets are outside and these houses are targeted at disabled South Africans and this is money where the state house was sold, saying we’re going to build houses for our people. If this is actually meant for our people, actually it feels like our political environment has not changed from the apartheid era where poor people were never regarded as human beings.”

While it seems like the project is ongoing, Mashaba has promised to assist those who will be occupying the 40 houses with their grievances.

“What we are saying we are promising, we will find a solution, what solution at the moment, I was not really aware about this. We are not the administration of the city and I’m confident we are going to win the city. And we’ll find a solution working with them to make sure we give them dignity.”

Linkie Kewele occupied the house last year. The single mother of two says their house did not meet her expectations.

“To be honest, we are not okay. We thought we would have toilets in the house, unfortunately, we don’t know what happened. We saw outside toilets.”

Mashaba says Action SA will ensure that rightful owners will occupy these homes.

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