Mziwamadoda Mbolongwane, who lives with albinism, says he has lost hope of owning a house.
The 41-year-old from Motherwell NU11, near Port Elizabeth, told Daily Sun: “For 21 years I followed every required process in order to get an RDP.
“I made my first application in Kamvelihle in 1995 and I lived there for many years.
“I left after I found out that my name was not on the list of the beneficiaries when houses were eventually built.”
The unemployed man said he moved to Wells Estate, where he built a shack, in 2006.
“It was even worse there. After I had waited for many years, expecting to get a house, I was told by a councillor that my application papers were among those that got misplaced in his office.
“I was left hopeless and powerless,” Mziwamadoda said.
In 2012 he went to live in Kwa-Dwesi. After again failing to get a house he relocated to NU29 in Motherwell.
“I again applied and was promised I would get a house soon, but it seems to be a lie because all of the houses and flats there are already occupied by beneficiaries,” he said.
His children were born in different squatter scamps.
“I am getting older and I am still poor and homeless. I want my kids to have a place they call home and where they feel secure and safe, but it seems my dream of having a house is fading fast.
“I will live at my parents’ home until my house is built. I cannot afford to pay rent now because my disability grant is not enough for that. My children also need food and clothing,” he said.
Eastern Cape Human Settlements spokesman Lwandile Sicwetsha urged Mziwamadoda to approach his local municipality.
He said: “Application is done at the local municipality. The criteria are not discriminatory against any South African citizen who qualifies for a government housing subsidy.”
