MORE than 200 houses that were built as a gesture of goodwill for those who lost their houses during apartheid have now become a headache for the people of Mdavula village near Malamulele in Limpopo.
Families who benefited from the 2003 Dzwerani-Mdavula land claim said they had been living in houses with cracked walls and leaking roofs. They said they had been waiting more than 10 years for their four-roomed houses to be fixed.
The land claim case comes from the forced removals of 1967 and 1982 when Venda- and Tsonga-speaking people were separated by the apartheid government.
Land claims housing steering committee secretary Thomas Mbombi said the houses started to deteriorate within a year of being built.
Mbombi said her committee had informed the Land Claims Commission about the problems.
"They promised to send a technician to assess the damage, and this matter has been taken to the Public Protector," Mbombi said.
"It's sad because some of the unemployed villagers have to raise money to buy iron sheets."
Mthavini Flora Maswanganyi, a mother of five, blamed the problem on the poor quality of materials used in building the houses.
She said her furniture and clothes were being damaged by rain because her roof leaked.
"I don't think our houses will be fixed because we have been waiting for 12 years. My children are living with relatives because they are afraid the house might collapse at any time. We have raised this with the steering committee and ward councillor, but there is no help," she said.
Councillor Simon Mathebula said: "We tried our best and are still waiting for people to come and assess the damage".
Director of rural development and land affairs in Limpopo, Rirhandzu Shilote, said they would take legal action against the contractors who built the houses.
"It is not only houses in Dzwerani-Mdavula that have problems, we have more problems elsewhere."
- mushianae@sowetan.co.za
Villagers wait in vain
MORE than 200 houses that were built as a gesture of goodwill for those who lost their houses during apartheid have now become a headache for the people of Mdavula village near Malamulele in Limpopo.
Families who benefited from the 2003 Dzwerani-Mdavula land claim said they had been living in houses with cracked walls and leaking roofs. They said they had been waiting more than 10 years for their four-roomed houses to be fixed.
The land claim case comes from the forced removals of 1967 and 1982 when Venda- and Tsonga-speaking people were separated by the apartheid government.
Land claims housing steering committee secretary Thomas Mbombi said the houses started to deteriorate within a year of being built.
Mbombi said her committee had informed the Land Claims Commission about the problems.
"They promised to send a technician to assess the damage, and this matter has been taken to the Public Protector," Mbombi said.
"It's sad because some of the unemployed villagers have to raise money to buy iron sheets."
Mthavini Flora Maswanganyi, a mother of five, blamed the problem on the poor quality of materials used in building the houses.
She said her furniture and clothes were being damaged by rain because her roof leaked.
"I don't think our houses will be fixed because we have been waiting for 12 years. My children are living with relatives because they are afraid the house might collapse at any time. We have raised this with the steering committee and ward councillor, but there is no help," she said.
Councillor Simon Mathebula said: "We tried our best and are still waiting for people to come and assess the damage".
Director of rural development and land affairs in Limpopo, Rirhandzu Shilote, said they would take legal action against the contractors who built the houses.
"It is not only houses in Dzwerani-Mdavula that have problems, we have more problems elsewhere."
- mushianae@sowetan.co.za
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