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90% of Eldos residents not registered for houses

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Residents of Eldorado Park queue for the verification and registration of housing at Eldorado Park Secondary School.PHOTO: Amanda Khoza
Residents of Eldorado Park queue for the verification and registration of housing at Eldorado Park Secondary School.PHOTO: Amanda Khoza

Community members gathered at the Don Mateman Hall in the Soweto suburb on Wednesday morning to raise their concerns over housing and crime in the area.

At least 52 people were arrested after various protests erupted in Eldorado Park this month, with residents looting shops and damaging property.

The community gathering came after the Gauteng department of human settlements launched a verification and registration campaign at the Eldorado Park Senior Secondary School sport grounds on Monday.

The campaign will run until June 9.

More than 90% of the people who came to verify their housing status during the campaign were actually not registered for houses.

The department said the campaign was aimed at residents to come out for verification and registration for housing.

“The campaign is about ensuring that no one is left out when the projects are rolled out.

"We are also in the process of acquiring land near the area, we want to get the full picture of how many people need houses in the area,” said departmental spokesperson Keith Khoza.

Khoza said that the department noted a trend that just more than 90% of the people who came forward were not registered for houses.

“Many of those who came to verify turned out to be not registered.

"Some registered for the flats that were municipal-owned in the area and thought they were registered for houses, while others registered with a community organisation,” he said.

Gauteng department of human settlements officials assist residents with registrations and verification at Eldorado Park Secondary School.PHOTO: Amanda Khoza

He called on community organisations to empower people with the correct information because, if the campaign had not happened, hundreds of deserving people would not have benefited from houses.

Khoza also encouraged people who applied for houses in 1996 and those living in backyards to come forward.

“The department is in the process of identifying available land within the proximity of the area, however those who qualify will be considered for allocation in the existing projects,” he said.

Departmental officials are available at the school from 9am – 7pm on weekdays and 8am to 2pm on weekends.

Khoza also called on people from communities to wait for the department to visit their areas.

Meanwhile, MEC for Gauteng cooperative governance and traditional affairs and human settlements, Paul Mashatile, and Johannesburg mayor, Herman Mashaba, would launch a title deed roll-out campaign for the Johannesburg region on Thursday, June 1.

The campaign aimed to deal with the title-deeds backlog in the province and was part of the government’s plan to eliminate the backlog for pre-and post-1994 title deeds.

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