12 February 2025
Elderly people from Johannesburg marched in Pretoria on Wednesday demanding housing. Photo: Silver Sibiya
About 70 people, most of them elderly, marched to the Department of Human Settlements in Pretoria on Wednesday, demanding houses.
They say they applied as long ago as 1996.
The march was organised by community organisation Fiyela Movement. Marchers came from Johannesburg and marched from Burgers Park in Pretoria to the department’s headquarters.
Peggy Sinusha, 69, from White City in Johannesburg, who uses a wheelchair, says she has been waiting for 29 years but officials in Soweto want her to pay a bribe. “Whenever I go for a follow-up they tell me I must pay R3,000 to get the house,” she said.
But she is confident Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, will hear her cry for help and she will get her house.
“The way I see it I’ll finally get my house because there is no reason why I shouldn’t.”
Nora Mkhize, 65, from Senaoane in Soweto, lives in a back room. Holding documents she said proved her application, she said she had been among those who protested against Bantu Education in 1976.
“I could have died fighting for this country but I have nothing. I’m struggling to even get a mere RDP house.”
One of the march organisers, Nomzamo Nhlapo, said a memorandum had been submitted to the department in October 2024 and the marchers wanted feedback.
“We were told to give the ministry 40 days notice, before they can respond because they still wanted to go through the memorandum,” Nhlapo said. She said calls in January had not prompted any feedback.
“We then decided to return here today having informed the minister that we will be here but she is not here.”
Nhlapo met Human Settlements officials during the march but they did not address the crowd.
The department had not responded to GroundUp’’s questions, sent by email and WhatsApp, by the time of publication.