People living in luxury former government houses in Ulundi, the former capital of KwaZulu-Natal, are worried they might be evicted.
They have stayed in the homes illegally since 1996, when the provincial government abandoned these houses.
In 2013, it was found that the illegal tenants, including doctors, nurses, police officers, and magistrates, owed over R100-million for unpaid electricity bills.
The residents claim they have lived in the houses for most of their lives.
Steve Bhengu, the spokesperson for Martin Meyer, the KZN MEC for Public Works and Infrastructure, said Meyer would visit Ulundi soon “to talk to the community about the 300 illegally occupied houses”.
The houses were built for ministers of the old KwaZulu government, under late Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but were abandoned when the government moved offices to other cities like Durban and Pietermaritzburg.
Siphamandla Ntombela, from the NFP in the Zululand district municipality, said Meyer should talk to the families living in the houses before removing them.
He said that in Dlomodlomo, another part of Ulundi, similar houses were handed over to the community without problems.
“We want MEC Meyer to do the same for the families living in these abandoned properties. These families have taken care of the houses and stopped them from being used by criminals,” Ntombela said.
Former Human Settlements MEC Jomo Sibiya had promised to negotiate with the families, but he was removed from his position before anything could be done.
Pictured above: One of the 300 abandoned luxury government houses in Ulundi, now illegally occupied by magistrates, doctors, police officers, and teachers.
