Africa's Best Read
Twenty-nine years into democratic rule in South Africa and many despondent, hopeless and angry citizens are still waiting for a place to call home.
Dlamini, a street vendor who sells traditional Zulu shoes and accessories, lives in Madelakufa. He told the Mail & Guardian that he had applied for an RDP home in 1995, while he was still in his twenties. At the time, he hoped the government would allocate him a house so he could have a family and bring up his children in a warm and comfortable home.
“We have to stay up all night to make sure it does not get flooded, and, when it does, we have to leave and find cover somewhere so that no one gets hurt. Nothing hurts me more than that as a father.” Albert Ntsele, 56, lives with his wife and seven children and grandchildren. With tears of frustration in his eyes, he told the M&G how difficult it was to be a father under his circumstances.
“Every time I wake and open the door, I see homes on the other side of the street, and when I look back and see all my children sleeping on the floor, it hurts me. It’s a pain I can’t put into words.”