IFP eThekwini member of the Executive of the eThekwini Municipality, Cllr Mdu Nkosi today has opposed the revision of Housing and Hostel rentals review for 2015/16 at the eThekwini Council meeting held in City Hall today.
“The municipality must have a better plan because we are all aware that people who are living in the rental houses are living under awful circumstances due to the non-maintenance of these properties. The houses are cracking and sewers are not attended to when they are damaged,” he said.
“As for the hostels, we find it very strange how they reviewed the tariffs, because most of the people living at the hostels are not working, and some are the people who moved from the rural areas to town for job hunting, so we are not certainly sure that most of them are working. We also believe that this review will increase the crime rate in this area as the people will be hunting for the money to pay this rent to the municipality! As the municipality itself is aware that these people have no ownership of this property, and therefore they are not able to renovate by fixing the cracks, especially in the hostels. The residents have no privacy because you can even view what the neighbour is doing inside the house due to the large cracks in the walls. People are also affected by the wind and rain.” said Cllr Nkosi.
“The IFP is not against the review but we are of the view that people must be certain what they will be paying for. The municipality must ensure that the living conditions are respectable and worthy for human beings to live in. So the municipality must first look over these issues before making the review.”
“In conclusion, the IFP demands that the municipality ensures that ground work is done by the municipality before it considers implementing these proposed tariffs in these areas,” concluded Cllr Nkosi.
Issued by:
IFP eThekwini caucus leader in eThekwini Municipality,
Cllr Mdu Nkosi, 076 133 1382
For Media Queries:
Miss Thabisile Mkhize,
IFP Media Officer, 073 522 1786
