Sunday Tribune: Fury as housing sign-up cancelled

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Fury as housing sign-up cancelled

March 02, 2008 Edition 2

Chris Makhaye

Police, assisted by a helicopter, battled to disperse an angry crowd waiting to register for houses at New Dawn Park.

Thousands of people flocked to the area yesterday to register for 2 500 homes that are part of the Newlands Infill Sites Housing Development Project.

However, their hopes were dashed when the eThekwini Municipality cancelled all registrations due to the number of people queuing to apply.

Municipal authorities told the crowd they could not register potential home owners because there were too many people. ANC councillor for Newlands East, N J Madondo, told the crowd that the council would rearrange the registration process at a later stage to avoid chaos.

But he was jeered by a section of the crowd, and the SAPS and Metro police riot units were called in to disperse them.

Most of the crowd made their way home but hundreds remained and waited as councillors and municipal housing officials were locked in meetings over the registration process.

Many home seekers had spent two nights sleeping at the site to ensure a favourable spot in the queue.

Only 17 of 2 500 houses have been built in the New Dawn Park area, and others are to be built in the greater Newlands area. These houses are to be allocated in accordance with the municipality’s racial quota, with 45% of the homes going to Africans, 25% each going to coloureds and Indians and whites getting 5%.

The crowd flocked to the area after an advert appeared in the municipality’s eZasegagasini Metro newspaper, which invited applications from first-time home owners earning between R2 500 and R15 000 a month.

Yvonne Mkhize, 49, of Umlazi said she had been in the queue since Thursday afternoon.

“My son and I took turns to stand (in the queue). After a while I slept in his car but many others had blankets and just slept near the road.

“I have been renting all my life and I would like to own my own home. When I saw the adverts I said this could be a chance for me. But I didn’t think there would be so many people,” said Mkhize.

Other people had brought reclining chair and blankets on which to relax while they queued. Hawkers did brisk business selling food and cold drinks.

Local residents were stuck in their homes when their driveways were blocked by cars and people, and the busy Hippo Road in New Dawn Park came to a standstill.

City Manager Mike Sutcliffe said the municipality had to cancel the registration to avoid the situation getting out of control.

Overwhelming

“This housing project was certainly not targeted at the poorest of poor.

“It was for people who could meet certain criteria and we had hoped that we would take their applications and assess them and see who qualifies. But the demand was overwhelming.

“We had to cancel because you cannot have a situation where there are 2 000 houses and you have 20 000 people wanting them.”

He said the city management would sit with the housing sub-committee tomorrow to decide how to avoid a repeat of this week’s chaos.

“This is not the only area where we are going to build houses of this nature. There are many others across the municipal area, including the Westville Triangle,” Sutcliffe said.

New Dawn Park residents were due to hold a meeting of their own this afternoon to voice their concerns. Algernon Mathew, a member of the Newlands East Concerned Committee, said the meeting would discuss the housing project.

“We feel that local people who do not have houses should be given preference over people from outside,” he said.