NEWS

PROTEST
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March 18, 2024

Diepkloof hostel dwellers demand new structures as theirs are collapsing

Hostel Induna Sibongiseni Khoza says hostel dwellers are no violent, they are fighting for their rights
PHOTO: Sibonelo Zwane

Walking inside the Diepkloof hostel, one is met by a stench from the bucket toilets, the structures are dilapidated and on the verge of collapsing. This morning, residents took to the streets to protest and they say that they will continue doing so until Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi addresses their demands. They blockaded N1 and N12 saying that human settlement issues are inhumane and disastrous in the hostel.


"WE LIVE LIKE ANIMALS"


Whilst doing a walkabout at the hostel, the induna Sibongiseni Khoza told ZiMoja that they are generally peaceful people, but residents are now aggravated by the lack of services and the structures that put their lives at risk on a daily basis.

Khoza said they were angered by the fact that the mayor and the premier had promised to come last week when City Power was switching on the lights but they were a no show. "They know that they promised to build new units for the hostel dwellers but now they are quiet. During the budget speech, Lesufi said there was a budget for hostel refurbishments but look at the situation we are living in, where is all that money going?" Khoza said he believed that the abandonment is politically motivated. "We believe that we are being left to suffer like this because a majority of us are not members of the ruling party. Yes, we are grateful that we finally have electricity but after how many decades? This hostel was established in 1960 and my father lived here until he went back home to the village and there has never been electricity, water or proper sanitation. My father still doesn't believe me when I tell him we have electricity, he just laughs," said Khoza.



DIGNITY AND HOPE


Khoza said they feel disrespected and undignified because of the unkempt promises. "They gave us false hope by bringing surveyors and engineers who confirmed that this hostel is not meant to for human habitation. I don't like how we are raising our children, imagine having to share a bedroom with your four children who are sleeping on the floor while you're in bed with their mother, it's not right. We need proper family units where adults can have their privacy and kids have the freedom to be themselves. We also want title deeds like our neighbours who live in four roomed houses, we want proper toilets because we are still using the bucket system."


SERVICE DELIVERY NON-EXISTENT


Mbali Ndawonde, who moved into the hostel in 2015, said since she started living there, service delivery has been non-existent. "Unfortunately, we have nowhere else to go so that's why we are asking to be built proper structures because we live with our children and these structures can collapse any day. I'm afraid because we could be sleeping and then be woken up by a collapsing structure. I sleep with my two children in my bedroom, but we are 12 in this unit, I don't even work, I do odd jobs washing laundry for people in the township. Life is tough," she said. SAPS spokesperson Colonel Mavela Masondo said the police intelligence received intel on Sunday evening about a looming protest by hostel dwellers. "Members were on standby from Sunday night, so by the time they started at 4am we were ready for them. Unfortunately, they damaged two cars, one from JMPD and another from a media house. We've opened a case of malicious damage to property and public violence. We know they are not done, so we will remain on standby.

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