Last updated on 23/04/2022
A housing development project was meant to bring change to a rural Limpopo community has become the source of many troubles writes Benson Ntlemo
The Limpopo government’s promise to transform the lives of a community through a township housing project in the Collins Chabane Local Municipality has gone up in smoke as the area has now become a neglected semi ghost town.
M’tititi RDP housing, known to villagers as New Orleans, was officially launched in 1999 by former Limpopo MEC for housing Edgar Mushwana.
At the event Mushwana promised the community that the government was determined to improve their living conditions and would build a school among others.
However, 22 years later the community has degenerated into forgotten people of South Africa. M’tititi town is next to Muhunguti, a settlement started when Fumani Gold Mine built few houses for its employees. When the houses were abandoned when the mine was shut down, homeless people in the area took them over and a new settlement called Muhunguti developed.
Both Muhunguti and M’tititi Town are jointly led by Hlengani Thomas Baloyi, commonly known as Maphuza on behalf of hosi M’tititi whose real names are Yingwani Chauke.
Maphuza said the government built 3000 housing units but when the project was officially opened only 1080 houses were unoccupied.
He said for the first three years after the project was launched there was water from boreholes, but these stopped working in 2004, leaving the community without water. Since then, residents used wheelbarrows to get water from a borehole at Muhunguti, about 3km away. But five years ago, these also dried up.
“People used wheelbarrows to go to the nature reserve gate at Jilongo about 4km away but for over a year that has since gone dry. The only solace was to go 5km to Shingwedzi River where they were drinking in the same place as cattle and snakes,” said Maphuza.
Maphuza said they have reported the community’s plight to the water authority, Vhembe District Municipality.
The situation has created a business opportunity for waterpreneurs that sell water to villagers at R5 per 25 litres. But this is not a solution since most villagers are unemployed. The rate of unemployment is cited as another contributory factor to the high crime rate in the area.
Most of the more than 1000 houses that were built and not occupied have been vandalised. Some of the locals allegedly sold bricks and mortar to make ends meet.
There is also widespread theft of electricity cables.
Because of the poor service delivery situation, the community is facing, some of the people abandoned their houses in the township and went back to their former settlements.
One of them is Thomas Mchicwa Chauke, 55, who went back to Lombard village after being frustrated with the situation at M’tititi Town.
Chauke says he was part of the new house owners after the new township was officially opened in 1999.
“After realising that the government neglected the area and there are no jobs and people resort to crime to survive, I went back to Lombard village in 2012 and I am not regretting the move,” said Chauke.
Mumsi Mahlaule, 40, a mother of 4 shares Chauke’s sentiments about the place but still stays in the township.
A mother of four, one of Mahlawule’s children is a grade 8 pupil at Jilongo high and she travels through the scholar transport.
“Although my child is using scholar transport, I am far from happy because children travelling to the nearest primary school at Jilongo are travelling on foot, and are exposed to criminals and wild animals,” said Mahlawule.
“I wish the government should do the right thing to the community and build a primary school in the area,” Mahlawule said.
Even though the community has been promised the school and it was allocated a number and a name, the area is still without a primary school since it was established.
Every morning two busloads take learners from the township to Phatima Primary school at M’tititi Plange 7km away, while another bus takes other kids to Altein 5km away.
More than 30 children from the village travel on foot daily to Shigombe primary school at the neighbouring Jilongo village and are exposed to eminent danger from animals from the neighbouring Kruger National Park.
The area’s headman Borax Nyambi expressed despair at the situation.
“My people will die of thirst. I will feel much better health wise if the government will provide water to my people and build a primary school,” said Nyambi who is wheelchair bound due to illness.
Former civic leader Phineas Bilankulu said after the launch of the housing project, the government promised the community development projects including a school, but all came to naught.
Vhembe District Municipality liaison officer Moss Shivambu said a new one will be drilled up soon to address the water challenges.
Limpopo MEC for cooperative governance, housing and traditional affairs Basikopo Makamu said he has become aware of the plight of the community and has asked the Collins Chabane municipality to provide government with a list of all the challenges faced by the community, and they will be addressed. – news@mukurukuru.co.za
