Families were promised RDP homes. Instead they were left for 15 years without services

Welekazi Msawu, 62, says she is approved for a house. But “no one is telling me when and where the house is going to be built”. Photo: Nombulelo Damba-Hendrik.

• Families relocated from Phola Park in Komani in 2010 after storm damage are still living without services at a “temporary” relocation site.
• They say they had been promised RDP houses, within a year, 15 years ago.
• People have to relieve themselves in buckets or an open field as there are no toilets.
• The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements says 143 houses will be built between September and December this year.

In 2010, about 25 families were moved from Phola Park informal settlement in Komani, Eastern Cape, after their shacks were destroyed by high winds. Residents we spoke to claim that the Chris Hani District Municipality told them at the time that RDP homes would be built for them within a year and they were to be relocated to New Zone temporarily.

Fifteen years later, about 15 families remain in New Zone, without any sanitation services or electricity. Nearby there is a graveyard and an unbearable stench from stagnant water.

“They said our houses will be built within 12 months, but 15 years later we are still waiting,” says Sylvia Bandeza. She said they were all registered for houses. In 2011, electricity poles were installed, but then removed in 2017 with no explanation.

Welekazi Msawu, 62, was a backyarder in Unifound and relocated to New Zone in 2015. She uses a wheelchair. She has to relieve herself in a bucket. Her daughter empties it in the graveyard. Msawu says they don’t have other options.

She said the previous ward councillor, who relocated her, had explained that the her shelter would have no electricity or toilets but she would quickly receive an RDP house.

She said municipal officials confirm she is approved for housing but “no one is telling me when and where the house is going to be built”.

Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Yanga Funani said a project to build 143 houses is in the works for September to December 2025. He said a site visit was conducted to confirm the state of readiness for the implementation of the project.

Phola Park informal settlement

Meanwhile about 150 families still live in the Phola Park informal settlement. Resident Kholiwe Mampewula said the toilets have been blocked since 2020 and despite numerous requests the municipality has not fixed them. People relieve themselves in an open field.

Chris Hani District Municipality spokesperson Thobeka Mqamelo said the sewerage pump station is malfunctioning and being repaired. She admitted there were constant sewage spillages, but said these are attended when they are reported. The municipality has applied to upgrade the system in Komani, which will enable it to service the area when it is formalised.

Hluphekile Siyoko, 69, said while he has been waiting for an RDP house he has lost his wife, daughter and grandchild in a shack fire. He had to borrow money from a loan shark to pay for the funerals. The loan shark keeps his social grant card and gives him less than half his grant money.

Asked why Phola Park lacked services, Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality (which is under Chris Hani District) spokesperson Lonwabo Kowa said Phola Park was an unplanned settlement. People had occupied the land. Government in response took a resolution to formalise Phola Park informal settlement and provide services. But electrification and the rollout of services were disrupted by new people arriving.

“Initial owners that were on the first register were not found,” he said. “There were many new shacks, some of which had been erected inside the existing sites.”

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