A group of Durban families meant to benefit from a low-cost housing project are upset with the eThekwini Municipality. They accuse the municipality of reneging on its promise that they will be housed at the new Donnelly Road housing project in The Bluff.
- A group of Durban families living in a dilapidated building owned by the eThekwini municipality are upset. They claim the municipality has reneged on its promise of providing them with decent housing.
- Construction of the Donnelly Road housing project in The Bluff started in 2021 and was completed in June 2024.
- More than 60 Durban families say they are meant to benefit from the low-cost housing project.
- But the municipality says it cannot finalise allocating the units in the housing project without confirming that all beneficiaries still meet the qualifying requirements.
More than 60 Durban families meant to benefit from a low-cost housing project are upset with the eThekwini municipality.
Construction of the Donnelly Road housing project in The Bluff started in 2021 and was completed in June 2024 at a cost of about R38-million. The low-cost flats currently have 76 units. It is a rental housing initiative. Examples of rents are R850 per month for a one-bedroom unit and R1,800 for a two-bedroom one.
About 64 families who have already been through the municipality’s vetting process say they’ve been ignored for months while waiting for units to be allocated to them.
Last week, the municipality’s chair of the human settlements committee, Councillor Themba Mvubu, blamed the delays at the project on “technical challenges”. He said that in July last year, inspectors from the city’s water directorate found that the installation of water meters was not compliant. “This required corrective work that was not provided for in the original project budget.”
Mvubu also explained that the original beneficiary list of 64 households was compiled by those who previously resided on the site. During final verification and engagement processes, he said some beneficiaries were dissatisfied, arguing that they had already been verified in earlier phases. “Unfortunately, certain engagements turned hostile, making it difficult for officials to conclude the process smoothly,” said Mvubu.
“We cannot finalise allocations without confirming that all beneficiaries still meet the qualifying requirements,” Mvubu added. The municipality also matches household income and family size to an appropriate unit, he explained. The municipality will prioritise the original 64 households and the remainder will be sourced from the greater eThekwini housing register.
Durban resident Ziningi Ngcobo is among the 64 families living at this dilapidated building owned by the eThekwini Municipality. She has been living in this two-bedroom flat with her three children since 1997.
However some of the 64 families told GroundUp they are sceptical, and believe the municipality is going back on its promise that they will be housed at the new flats. The families live in a dilapidated building next to the flats. Most of them have lived there for over 20 years. The municipality bought the building from a private landowner in 2006 but has failed to adequately maintain the building.
Chairperson of the residents’ committee, Innocent Shabalala, said they have been waiting for the municipality to allocate them units. “We have been waiting so long. Each time we send our documents to the City, they only acknowledge that they have received them then they keep quiet,” said Shabalala.
Akhona Makhosini has been living in the building for 18 years. She currently stays with her husband and their five children. She said she pays eThekwini R1,000 rent per month for her one-bedroom flat. “I am sure that I will manage to pay the monthly rent that is required from me because I was verified and have been waiting for the city to house me,” she said.
According to the ward 66 councillor Zoe Solomon (DA), the pre-verification process had been done after the water meters and electricity had been installed in the units. “The officials want to play politics while residents are living in the dilapidated building,” said Solomon.
Zamani Khuzwayo, the DA’s member on the municipality’s human settlement committee, wrote to Mvubu in August to demand a clear explanation and transparency on the handover of the houses.
“For over 20 years, 64 families have been forced to endure inhumane living conditions. They are currently crammed in a deteriorating building with leaking roofs, mold infested walls and poor ventilation,” said Khuzwayo.
Asked about the delays municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana told GroundUp confirmed that the housing department is still finalising the verification of beneficiaries.
“The main challenge is the refusal by some beneficiaries to undergo profiling, which is necessary to ensure that the list accurately reflects the current occupants. If the residents do not want to cooperate this could delay the verification process further,” said Sisilana.
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