Millions across South Africa are confronted with challenges of abstract poverty daily with many going to bed hungry and resorting to living in dwellings made by themselves from wood and iron.
Incomplete Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses continue to be a slap in the face to those who cannot afford low-cost housing, 14 years later Vincent Naidoo and Radha Rambully have not stopped trying to acquire one. Drowning in the deep- end of hardship, crime and unemployment, the couple and their two children get by on donations and doing odd jobs. Rambully said in the four years they have been living in the shack, life has been extremely difficult. “When it rains the house is completely flooded. It’s winter and the nights get extremely cold. Cold wind pushes through the gaps in the house and affects us terribly. We also don’t have electricity or running water from the time we moved here and cook outside on a fire.” Rambully said she has been applying for an RDP house for 14 years with no joy. “I’ve been to the municipality in Verulam and Tongaat multiple times. I keep all my documents safe. Every time I try to check up on when I will receive a house I get nothing out of it.”
Naidoo, who works as a grass cutter, had recently purchased his own grass-cutting machine with the financial aid of a friend. On Friday, 4 June, the family fell victim to a house robbery where their machine and groceries were stolen. “Three men came into the house. One had a knife and the other two had broken bottles. They held the knife and bottles to our necks and told us not to scream while the other went into the back room and took out the grass cutter. It took just five minutes and they were gone.” Naidoo said the money he made was the family’s main source of income. “We have been robbed nine times in four years. People come in and steal money and groceries. They leave us with nothing. The last robbery was the most tragic. The machine costs over
R5 000. I was paying a monthly installment of R350. I only paid two installments and now the machine is gone but I still have to pay the person that helped me buy it. I don’t know how I’m going to do that because the grass cutter was the only way for me to make any money.” Naidoo said it is heartbreaking to know government have built many incomplete houses while there are millions of people living without basic necessities. “It just breaks me. All we want is a safe and decent place to live without the fear of being robbed everyday. I just want safety for my children.” Ward councillor, Chris Langa, said is a shame that human beings are forced to live this way. “I can only imagine what life must be like for these people. Not only do they not have electricity and water but the house they’re living in is uninhabitable, especially for a family. The area is unsafe so the first thing we need to do is get them a proper home.”Despite numerous attempts, the eThekwini Municipality had yet to respond by the time of print.
