Category Archives: Housing Development Agency

Daily Maverick: In Langa, Cape Town: A dark combo of housing corruption & police brutality

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-05-08-in-langa-cape-town-a-dark-combo-of-housing-corruption-police-brutality

In Langa, Cape Town: A dark combo of housing corruption & police brutality

by Jared Sacks

Twenty-seven-year-old Siyabonga Magcida is in Groote Schuur Hospital today, under 24-hour police surveillance, because he is considered a flight risk. Yet he is severely injured, is connected to drips on both arms and is unable to walk or even speak. By JARED SACKS.

The answer will take us back a full six years, when the Joe Slovo community first rose up to fight their pending eviction to the peri-urban township called Delft on the outskirts of Cape Town. Now, Magcida’s enemy is not just the housing department, but also his former comrades. Continue reading →

The New Age: Community in fist fight over RDP houses

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http://www.thenewage.co.za/65907-1011-53-Community_in_fist_fight_over_RDP_houses

Community in fist fight over RDP houses

Mpho Mashego

The N2 Gateway housing project has again led to conflict among the hundreds of people waiting to be allocated houses, this time even degenerating into fist fights during a community meeting.

The Joe Slovo informal settlement held a meeting at the weekend after the names of the beneficiaries for the Gateway Project were released. In the end police were called in after the community accused community leaders of colluding with the Housing Development Agency (HDA) to sell RDP houses to other people.

“Last night the Joe Slovo community held a mass meeting with community leaders such as Sfiso Mapasa. The community is angry because of corruption within the N2 Gateway housing project where it is alleged that certain HDA officials and community leaders are colluding to sell new RDP homes in the project,” said Boitumelo Ramahlele from Temporary Relocation Area(TRA).

“HDA finally released the list of intended beneficiaries to community residents – something residents have been demanding for a long time.

“But now the Joe Slovo leadership is refusing to release that list to residents to conduct their own investigation into corruption.

“The leadership says only itself can conduct investigations of the alleged corruption. But the community does not trust these leaders. We therefore have every right to conduct an independent door-to-door investigation,” he said.

Abahlali Basemjondolo, an organisation that monitors the plight of people living in informal settlements, confirmed that on Saturday night there was a fight between the community and its leadership.

Abahlali baseMjondolo and the community held a follow up meeting yesterday afternoon.

The Gateway Project has been at the centre of controversy for many years with various informal settlement communities fighting over to whom the houses be allocated

Huge corruption in Joe Slovo – N2 Gateway housing project

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14 October 2012
Emergency press statement – Abahali baseMjondolo kwaLanga

Huge corruption in Joe Slovo – N2 Gateway housing project

Last night the Joe Slovo community held a mass meeting with community
leaders such as Sfiso Mapasa. The community is angry because of the
corruption going on inside the N2 Gateway housing project where the belief
is that certain Housing Development Agency (HDA) officials and community
leaders are colluding to sell new RDP homes in the project.

HDA finally released the list of intended benificiaries to community
residents – something residents have been demanding for a long time. But
now, the Joe Slovo leadership is refusing to release that list to residents
to conduct their own investigation into the corruption. They are saying
that only the leadership can conduct the investigation. But the community
does not trust these leaders. They therefore have every right to conduct an
independent door-to-door investigation.

Yet last night, there was a fight with the community and its leadership.
The community is furious. The police has arrived and is now persecuting the
residents.

Abahlali kwaLanga TRA will be joining the Joe Slovo community for a meeting
right now at Chris Hani Hall in Joe Slovo.

Media are requested to attend and contact residents at the numbers below.
Joe Slovo leadership and HDA officials need to be held accountable.

From Joe Slovo:

Nomakhazi @ 0836694100
Babalwa @ 0781949354
Aphiwe 0735799548

Residents of Joe Slovo and Langa TRA erupt in protest against corrupt housing officials and community leaders

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Abahlali baseMjondolo kwaLanga TRA
Press Statement – 6 September 2012
Venue: Mass meeting at Zone 30, Joe Slovo
Date: 6 September 2012
Time: 18h00

Residents of Joe Slovo together with Abahlali baseMjonodolo kwaLanga TRA protested tonight against corrupt Housing Development Agency project managers who are working with community committees in Joe Slovo and the TRA to illegally sell houses and TRA structures in the N2 Gateway housing project. We have evidence of corruption by Tami and also by Bukiwe, both high up HDA officials. Many community members have come forward with this evidence.

Today, we protested will the Joe Slovo community who called on the leadership of Joe Slovo to explain themselves. They refused to come to the community meeting. So the community decided to go to the leaders and force them to address our grievances. After a three hour meeting, Sifiso Mapasa from the committee promised to come to a community mass meeting at 18h00 tomorrow, the 7th of September, at Zone 30 park, Joe Slovo. We expect as many as 1,000 angry residents to attend this meeting. We are calling on the HDA to work with us to go door to door and verify each and every person who has received a house or TRA.

Heads must roll for the corruption that has kept us homeless and in shacks.

Media and supporters are invited to our meeting at 6pm.

For more information, contact:

Cindy at 0760866690 (Langa TRA)
Tumi at 0835363604 (Langa TRA)
Busisiwe at 0734961654 (Joe Slovo shack settlement)

Joe Slovo residents protest today, furious at HDA corruption

Press Statement for Abahlali baseMjondolo KwaLanga
6 September 2012

Joe Slovo residents will be protesting in Langa outside the newly built N2 Gateway houses this morning from 8am onwards. Media and other supporters are requested to attend.

Abahlali kwaLanga Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) have been fighting their own battles against corruption by committee members and the Housing Development Agency (HDA) with regard to the allocation of TRAs and RDP houses for residents. Now, it seems that Joe Slovo residents in Langa are also furious at their own community leadership and the HDA.

Yesterday we found out that they accuse HDA of selling the new houses built for Joe Slovo residents to outsiders who are not from the community. They also accuse their own leadership of making sure that they are the first ones to received housing in this phase of the N2 Gateway housing project – before anyone else from the community receives their long promised houses.

If residents’ accusations are true, it would mean that the entire N2 Gateway project is once again hopelessly corrupt. (Remember the previous attempted forced removal of Joe Slovo residents to Delft and the corruption in housing allocation in Delft communities such as Tsunami?)

Representatives from Abahlali baseMjondolo KwaLanga TRA will be joining Joe Slovo residents this morning in solidarity and to find out what exactly their grievances are. We will see if we can make common cause with our brothers and sisters in Joe Slovo.

For more information, contact:

Tumi @ 0835363604