Gogo Esther Lukhele (69) of extension 11 in Emjindini was forced by a contractor, whose name she no longer remembers, to demolish her well-erected shack early in 2003 with the promise that within a few months she would received a RDP house on her plot. 

She demolished her shack with joy, looking forward to the brick house she would receive, something she has never dared to own in her life. A temporary cheap shack was erected where she would live while they built her new home. 
Her life can since then could only be described as miserable because her temporary sink structure leaked when it rained and the cold pushed through every possible hole in the walls. She persevered for the past two years with the hope that construction would commence in her yard but up to date nothing has happened. 

Gogo is among hundreds of people in Emjindini who are living in shacks under these conditions. 
For residents like her their wait to receive RDP houses seem to drag on and on following the terminations of most of the contracts of contractors who tendered to construct RDP houses in the area. This had also failed the MEC of local government and housing Jabu Mahlangu’s promise that he made during his visit to the area when he said that “by the end of July all houses projects will be completed in Emjindini”.

Simphiwe Kunene, department spokesman, said the RDP projects was a provincially crisis not only faced by Umjindi. He said that the department was urging municipalities to find resolutions. “We terminated all contractors who performed poorly,” he said. 

With local government elections approaching, the people of Emjindini, who voted in the previous elections, were not keen to vote again. They claim that in the 11-years of so called democracy, they are still living in unpleasant conditions. “I voted because we were promised houses, but nothing has happened to fulfil that promise. I am not going to stand in the voting queue again,” said Mandla Shabangu.
T
he houses project was not the only concern of the people of Emjindini. There is also a shortage of proper stands and roads are not well maintained. 
Jabu Shabangu (29) of Enkhanini informal settlement said he had been living in this inhospitality area for the past five 
years. Enkanini is a swamp area, which is plagued by mosquitoes. They are using pit toilets. The council erected one tap of water for the more than 500 occupants. 

Mayor Richard Lukhele addressed the resident of the area during a consultation that was held recently and said that as council they didn’t have any power to speed up the housing project because it was a provincial issue. He said that they were doing their best to ensure people lives were bettered.
 

Anthony Ndlovu, an alleged ID fraudster, was arrested by the local criminal investigation unit in co-operation with the national immigration unit of Home Affairs on charges of issuing false identity documents. 
He was arrested last Wednesday, barely a month after he was let out on R2 000 bail on similar charges. Ndlovu, August Mnyanga, Sibongile Khoza and August Moola, were arrested in June on charges of fraud. The other three were granted bail of R200 each. 
However, as soon as Ndlovu was out on the street he allegedly continued with his illicit operations. According to Insp Abel Shongwe, Ndlovu was arrested after a woman was arrested being in the possession of a false ID and she confessed where she obtained it. 
The woman, who according to her false ID was Elizabeth Khoza, was in fact Luisa Cossa, believed to be a citizen from Mozambican. She appeared in the Barberton Magistrate’s Court last Friday. She remained in custody and her case was postponed to August 5. 

Shongwe said they believed Ndlovu was operating with individuals within the department of Home Affairs. “The syndicates simple remove a photo out of an original ID document and replace it with a false one,” he said. He added that they had received numerous complaints of people who were issued with summonses for owing furniture shops money, in cases where they didn’t even have accounts. “We would like to warn people to report a lost IDs immediately to home affairs,” he said Johan Schreiber, provincial head of national immigration branch in home affairs, said more arrests would soon be made.