Red Ants raid Rabie Ridge residents
YOUNG children and mothers were left stranded on Monday after the Red Ants demolished hundreds of illegal shacks built on “private” land in Rabie Ridge, Joburg.
Joyce Mabudla, 52, whose shack was demolished, said the reason why she occupied the land was because she was unemployed and relying on grants to survive.
“I have three children, I can’t afford to pay rent, hence I am here. I applied for an RDP house about 10 years ago and the department keeps on telling us (about) the backlog. What are we to do? Because we have tried to do this the right way but it is not working.”
Mabudla said that given the slow progress, she might die before ever moving into her RDP house.
“I have lost hope of ever owning a house, and now that it is elections, we are expected to go out and cast our votes. If I go and vote, what difference would it make, because I voted in the last elections and my service delivery issues keep on piling up?”
Another resident, Fannie Mashigo, said the government had neglected them for years and they were left with no choice but to fend for themselves.
“The majority of us who find ourselves in this situation are South Africans who have applied for houses, yet we are struggling to get those houses and answers from the government.
“We try occupy land that was not being utilised for years, all of sudden it belongs to someone,” added Mashigo.
He questioned why the provincial government has not entered into an agreement with land owners who were not utilising their so-called land.
“This thing is very simple, there’s a lot of land that is idling here in Tembisa, and it has been the case for years.
“Why can’t we utilise that land for the landless.
“Surely the national government and provincial government can enter into some talks with owners since they are not utilising it. That’s the only practical solution.
“We need land as people, some of us here can build houses for ourselves, not all of us are waiting for RDPs.”
The Department of Human Settlement spokesperson, Tahir Sema, failed to respond to the questions sent to him by the time of publication.