FOURTEEN families are cramped in a primary school classroom in the Vaal, Gauteng, because the Emfuleni local municipality has forcibly removed them from RDP houses.

In the meantime, the municipality is looking for alternative accommodation for the families.

The families say they lost all their belongings when the "Red Ants" - an evictions unit run by a security company - acting on behalf of the municipality, threw them out of 14 RDP houses at New Village in the Vaal.

They are now occupying a classroom at Ntabankulu Primary School in Sebokeng, which can accommodate 40 pupils.

Their predicament began last year when the municipality removed them from the informal settlement where they had been living for many years, to make space for more than 100 RDP houses.

Sarah Nhlapo, 35, said she had been living in the squatter camp since 1994.

"Last September, municipal officials told us that they were going to move us to make way for some RDP houses.

"The officials promised that we would be the first beneficiaries of the RDP houses," Nhlapo said.

She said that earlier this year they learnt that they would not benefit from the government housing project, despite having letters from the municipality assuring them that they would be temporarily relocated for 12 months until their RDP houses were completed.

"On October 5 we decided to move into the 14 houses to draw the attention of the municipality, but on Friday, November 4, the Red Ants came and kicked us out of the houses.

"As a result of their action, we lost all our belongings. The Red Ants also demolished our shacks," Nhlapo said.

The families claimed that the RDP houses were allocated to foreign nationals and to people who are allegedly related to municipal officials.

Hitler Mkhwanazi, 71, told Sowetan that the Emfuleni local municipality had allocated his family a house four months ago, so he was shocked when the family was kicked out last week.

"I don't know what I have done because that house was mine. I want answers from the municipality. I want to know why they kicked me out after four months and gave my house to somebody else," Mkhwanazi said with tears in his eyes.

After being kicked out of their houses, the 14 families headed to the municipal offices in Vanderbijlpark and slept there.

Nhlapo said that on Saturday mayor Greta Hlongwane took them to a flat and they spent the weekend there.

"On Monday, we went back to the municipal offices and we threatened to stay there permanently.

"The municipal officials then dumped us here at thisschool," Nhlapo said.

"We don't have any privacy because we are sharing this classroom with men and young children."

Some Good Samaritans near the school brought food and blankets for the families.

Municipal spokesman Klaas Mofomme said the municipality was attending to the problem.

"We want to sit down with the families to reach a common understanding. We don't want to divulge the details in the media, but we want to resolve the matter as soon as possible," Mofomme said.