Tensions are rising between residents who hijacked temporary houses in Mtsotso, outside Mdantsane, and those who were supposed to occupy them after being evicted from nearby Better Life recently. The occupiers have now been given an eviction notice by the Buffalo City Metro (BCM) to vacate the temporary shelters by the end of January. Residents evicted from RDP houses in Better Life in October were meant to occupy some of the temporary shelters in Mtsotso, but to their shock, they found some of them already occupied by other people.
The hundreds of residents now illegally occupying those temporary houses were last week given a month to evacuate the shelters. They were issued with eviction letters on Tuesday and initially given 24 hours to vacate. Initially, the metro had given them 24 hours to vacate, as they were issued eviction letters on Tuesday.
Better Life resident Yolisa Mhambi said they were hoping to finally get shelters after they were evicted two months ago, but the government had failed them. “We have been displaced for two months, after we were evicted by the municipality,” she said. “We recently found out that some of us were supposed to be in the temporary shelters that are in Mtsotso.” Mhambi said they visited the department of human settlements on Friday, but did not get the answers they anticipated. We were directed to BCM, that is where we were told that we were offered temporary houses, but they failed to tell us when that was agreed upon
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