A widowed mother of four is crying out for help after her repeated requests for a house from the Mayor have been ignored.
A widowed mother of four is crying out for help after her repeated requests for a house from the Mayor have been ignored.
June Abrahams, 49, who has been a Grahamstown resident for most of her life, said she has been on the waiting list to get a house from the municipality for more than a decade.
“I don’t know what to do anymore to get through to the authorities and to show my desperation,” she told Grocott's Mail last week.
In 2004 she was moved into an RDP house which had originally been allocated to a family who had lost their last house in a fire, but they had moved to Cape Town by the time the house was made available.
When the other family returned to Grahamstown in 2010, Abrahams had to move out of that house because it was never officially given to her. She said she didn't receive any help from the municipality after she was kicked out the house has been moving between friends and family ever since to keep her family safe.
When a municipal house became vacant in Albany road two months ago Abrahams, accompanied by Ward 4 councillor Lena May, approached Mayor Zamuxolo Peter. In her desperate plight she managed to secure a meeting with the Mayor and logged a personal request to temporarily occupy this house. She is yet to receive any feedback from him.
Abrahams and her four children currently live in a small room in Eyre Street. It is commonly known as “Renee’s yard” by locals and is a haven for the homeless.
Renee Jeffries, the owner of this property, has taken the initiative to set up informal housing in her back yard as temporary homes for people awaiting housing from the municipality.
Renee’s yard has some toilet facilities, but Jeffries said trying to expand on these with help from the municipality is like trying to get blood from a stone.
“Many people have been living here for over 10 years,” she said. “I was allocated a wendy house to help another family in need but the quality of the house is not great.” There are holes in the floor and the overall quality of the house makes it almost unbearable for the family to live there, according to one tenant. The house was allocated to the family three years ago and was only meant to be temporary.
“I am doing everything in my power to assist the people in my ward, especially with housing,” May told Grocott's Mail. “It is out of my hands and in the hands of Council. All I can say at this stage is that I am aware of the problems in my ward but everything has been logged with council and the ball is in their court.”
Some ward councillors and other interested parties have tried to help by raising funds to address the housing problem. Money was raised privately and some families were helped. “I have formally invited the Mayor on several occasions for a tour through the coloured community but to no avail or response,” May said.
“I have however personally submitted a list to the housing department in Bhisho for screening because I feel that ward councillors are aware of the community’s needs from a personal perspective.” At the time of going to print the Mayor was yet to respond to numerous attempts made by Grocott's Mail to get comment on the matter in the past week.
