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Transit Village residents get permanent homes
91 Families, temporarily relocated to the Alexandra Transit
Village (ATV), have received new homes. Before relocation these
families lived along London Road.
Thanks to the Alexandra Renewal Project (ARP) these families now
own houses at the Extension 7 Housing Development Project.
“I am very happy to have been given a house. I can’t believe that I
have moved from a shack to Transit Village, and to a proper house that
is now mine,” said a proud beneficiary, Maria Khosa.
Khosa said the ARP has not only made it possible for her to own a
place she can call “home”, but has given her family a gift. “The ARP
has made my life easier as they built me a house without having to pay
for it, while other people pay to get houses. This is truly a lifetime
gift,” she thanked the Renewal Project.
However, not all residents of ATV will be given houses at Extension 7,
as some do not qualify for a government subsidy.
According to the ARP Housing Manager, Sam Ramashala, some families at
the Transit Villages (Marlboro and Alexandra) have already benefited
before from the subsidy scheme and have RDP and bond houses registered
in their names outside Alexandra.
“It is against government policy for one person to be given an RDP
house twice in different areas,” he said.
Ramashala had good news for those left behind at the transit village.
He said they will not be left in the dark as the ARP plans to house
them in rental houses to be built at K206 and Extension 10.
To date, 643 households who live at the transit villages have had
their applications approved for subsidy.
“We are now in the process of relocating families that moved into the
ATV a long time ago as their subsidies have been approved. These
families will move to Extension 7 so that residents from Setjwetla
living along Vasco Da Gama bridge can be relocated to the Transit
Village.”
Ramashala said the ARP would ensure that Alexandra residents who apply
and qualify for a subsidy, would be given a house when land to build
becomes available in the township.
“Our mandate is to ensure that the people of Alexandra who qualify for
housing are not moved far away from the township but are provided with
housing opportunities in areas that are not far from their workplace
and community.”
He dismissed allegations that illegal immigrants are benefiting from
the Extension 7 housing project. “Some members of the community claims
that we are allocating houses to outsiders. It is not possible to
allocate or sell a house to a person who does not qualify as the
screening process for subsidy applications is done by different
government departments.”
He said the ARP follows guidelines laid out by the National Department
of Housing to determine who qualifies for a subsidy. The guidelines
include the following factors:
• The applicant should be over the
age of 21;
• Applicant should never have
benefited from any state subsidy: RDP or bond house;
• Be a South African resident with
a valid South African ID (either by birth or naturalisation);
• Earn less than R3 500 per month.
“No person can get a subsidy house unless he or she has complied with
the criteria as outlined by the National Housing Code,” he advised.
Meanwhile, Ramashala said the allocation of more than 1407 houses
being built at Extension 7 is expected to be complete by August this
year. |
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