Pensioners Build Their Own Community Hall

Pensioners in Mendwane in Willowvale, Eastern Cape are building their own community hall using their SASSA grants, saying their requests to the Mbhashe Local Municipality have fallen on deaf hears.

Brick-by-brick, a group of pensioners in Mendwane in Willowvale, Eastern Cape are building their own community hall using their SASSA grants.

The community driven project started in 2023 and is now nearing completion.

Households donated a minimum of R100 each while others donated material such as window frames. Mendwane consists of three villages. Residents say their requests for a communal meeting space went unanswered for years. This meant they had community gatherings on an open field, irrespective of weather conditions.

Sihle Mgedezi, who is overseeing the project, said residents have been requesting a community hall from Mbhashe Local Municipality and grew tired of being ignored.

The structure still needs more windows to be fitted, doors, electricity and plastering, but some residents have already started using the space.

“We need water tanks, electricity, and toilets. The people leading this project are pensioners relying on social grants. They cannot do everything with the little they have,” he said.

This is not the first time Mendwane residents have built their own infrastructure. In 2021, they raised more than R300,000 to build a community clinic, and in the early 1980s, they built a primary school.

Resident Daniel Dula said progress on the hall is slow because most of the contributing residents are pensioners. “We collect the money, send someone to town to buy materials, and then set a workday for everyone who is available. That’s how we’ve done it from the foundation until now,” said Dula.

“Sometimes when it’s raining, we have no choice but to stand outside,” he said.

In August, Deputy President Paul Mashatile visited the community.

Community leader Lungephi Thethi said he took Mashatile to the hall. “We were hoping he would donate something, but he didn’t. There wasn’t even a promise,” said Thethi.

Mbashe Local Municipality spokesperson Babalwa Magqwanti said the municipality uses a consultative process to decide on projects in each area based on need and priorities. She said that a road to a clinic in the area had been prioritised for the 2025/26 financial year.

According to her, due to limited funding, the municipality cannot build a hall in every voting district. “Community initiatives are welcome. However, we cannot affirm the safety standards of infrastructure constructed by communities,” she said.

Questions sent to the Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s acting spokesperson, Keith Khoza via email and WhatsAap were not answered or acknowledged.

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