adminTWO legislators from Lupane have been implicated in a housing scandal where they are allegedly displacing beneficiaries of Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle houses and allocating them to their supporters as a token of appreciation for their continued political backing.
The Members of the House of Assembly for Lupane East and Lupane West, Cde Martin Khumalo and Cde Sithembile Gumbo allegedly grabbed the stands and allocated them to friends and supporters. According to documents in our possession, 100 people have been “displaced” despite having been paying their rentals and some have almost completed building their houses.
In one of the letters addressed to Miss Sithembubuhle Sibanda whom the two MPs has allegedly appointed to oversee the housing project, the Lupane Local Board secretary Mr Gilbert Dube, stated that there were discrepancies between the lists which Miss Sibanda handed over to the board with the one which the board got from the Ministry of Local Government.
Said Mr Dube in the letter: “It is critical that these discrepancies be formalised, preferably by way of written acknowledgment from those original beneficiaries who have now been ‘displaced’.”
In an interview to elaborate on the letter Mr Dube confirmed that the issue was giving them problems but highlighted that there was hope that an amicable solution could be found.
“We are looking into the issues with local MPs with the hope of reaching a consensus. The issue is very complex because we don’t have an idea of how we are going to solve the matter,” he said.
A source privy to the ongoings said communication between the local board and the representative of the Garikai housing scheme, Miss Sibanda, has been going on since June but she has failed to explain why people were being displaced.
“What is disturbing is that the local MPs have vowed not to back down as they insist that people who will fall out of their favour will be chased out of the houses. The problem is that some people paid for those stands and some are still paying. It is impossible to change ownership of those houses as the beneficiaries signed lease forms hence it’s impossible to change that,” said the source.
“The local board is now under serious attack because MPs want it to protect them. Unfortunately, the law does not allow that because people cannot just be displaced. The confusion which has been created will not be easily solved because some of the people who were given stands by these MPs have completed their structures.”
Since the Garikai/Hlalani Kuhle projects were financed from a loan fund, the law stipulates that the then Ministry of National Housing and Social Amenities was obliged to recover all the money which was spent on the programme.
This means that all beneficiaries who were allocated uncompleted structures will sign lease agreements with the ministry for the structures they are occupying and pay to the ministry for the monies spent in constructing their structures.
Contacted for comment, Miss Sibanda refused to shed light referring questions to Cdes Khumalo and Gumbo.
“I am the chairperson of the trust but there is nothing I can say. Call Martin Khumalo and MaGumbo for that information. Those are the people who will give you the comment,” she said before hanging up the phone.
Cde Khumalo confirmed that he and Cde Gumbo were parceling out stands, but stressed that their aim was meant to foster development of the area.
“We have a serious problem in that area. As the local leadership we want Lupane to develop and we then took stands and gave them to people who were going to pursue development in our area. As far as I am concerned, there is no problem at all except for people who might want to own double stands. Recently we had a meeting with the local board and there is no problem at all on that matter,” said Cde Khumalo. Repeated efforts to get a comment from Cde Gumbo were fruitless.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter