Furore over Donnelly Road housing project

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10-09-2025
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Southlands Sun
Source

Residents have expressed anger over delays and concerns about the allocation process for the long-awaited housing units.

FRUSTRATIONS are mounting among Ward 66 residents following the occupation of the newly built Donnelly Road flats on The Bluff.

Residents have expressed anger over delays, a lack of transparency and concerns about the allocation process for the long-awaited housing units.

Many residents who have been living in the rental houses near the new flats accuse the Human Settlements Department of stalling the handover to the rightful occupants.

The R52m Donnelly Road housing project aims to provide affordable housing in the south of Durban, bordering Wentworth and The Bluff.

The project involves transforming dilapidated units into 76 modern Community Residential Units (CRUs), designed to offer:

• Improved privacy,
• Comfort and,
• Living conditions.

These upgraded units include:

• Both one-bedroom and two-bedroom options, providing residents with a safer and more dignified living environment.

A resident living in the flats, who wished to remain anonymous, said they are aware that they have bypassed the department’s procedure of allocating houses.

“The families who have now occupied the new flats are the ones who have been cramped into the dilapidated rental houses near the flats. After eThekwini Municipality bought the land from a private owner we rejoiced because we knew that our lives were going to change for the better.

“The project has been completed, but we wonder why the officials are not doing the handover. We have been asking the officials to come and handover the houses to the people, but they never did. We therefore decided to enter the houses without getting permission from them.”

Chairperson of the Human Settlements, Engineering and Transport Authority, Themba Mvubu, urged the families to comply with the law.

“Last time I was told they tried and they were removed by police. It is wrong that people can occupy houses illegally. Allocation is done after a screening process and all deserving and qualifying people get allocated. These are rental houses, we have to follow a screening process, and see if a person is qualifying and meet the requirements.

“If we don’t follow proper screening and due process, we risk allocating rental stock to people who may no longer qualify, such as pensioners, the unemployed, or individuals earning well above the income threshold,” said Mvubu.

Another resident said, “We had no choice because our houses were not in good conditions. Raw sewage is running through our houses and this is a health hazard. We have been trying to engage the municipality but nobody came to us. We have done profiling by Human Settlements Department a year ago, but the handover has not been done. The inhumane conditions that we are living under forced us to move to the new flats.”

The other two CRU projects, including KwaMakhutha and uMlazi T-section, are also under construction. The three projects, including Donnelly Road, are valued at over R111m.

The DA said in a statement that for over 20 years families have been forced to endure inhumane living conditions, and despite the completion of their homes more than a year ago, they have yet to receive their keys.

“They are currently crammed in a deteriorating building with a leaking roof, mold-infested walls, poor ventilation, and other serious health and safety concerns. These are unfit and dangerous living conditions that no one should be subjected to, especially when their rightful homes are ready and waiting.

“There is no justifiable reason for this delay. All beneficiaries signed for their homes and underwent an official induction over a year ago,” the party said in a statement.