Wheelchair-bound man pleads for decent home

A disabled resident from Zola Square, Taiwan informal Settlement in Site C, has been living in unbearable conditions since 2015.

Lwando Sigaqa, 31, a preacher, says his shack gets flooded in heavy rains and he has to scramble for proper shelter.

He was left in a wheelchair after being shot in the spinal cord during a robbery.

He said when he applied to the City of Cape Town for housing in 2017, he was hopefully of getting a decent place to live.

However, he is still waiting for help. In the last six years, Mr Sigaqa said he has been sent to doctors, social workers and to the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to verify his condition.

“I have no power to do that again. Every time I give the proof, they refer me back. I had to go back to all these departments but nothing was happening. I feel that people living with disabilities are not taken seriously by this government. I speak for many people with disabilities,” he said.

The frustrated and powerless father is praying for a helping hand to save him from his poor living conditions.When Vukani visited after the recent heavy rains, Mr Sigaqa struggled to get out of his shack. He said during rainy days his clothes get soaked. He fears for his life if fires start among the shacks.

“The area is not a safe environment for anyone to live in. Remember two years back there was a big fire that destroyed the area. I do not want luxury. I just need shelter. If only I can get a proper house, even if it is outside Site C, I would not mind. Should I get a house, I will be the happiest person on earth. A house to me is a matter of life and death,” he said.

He criticised the government for not taking a disabled people’s plight seriously. He said the government only used their name to fulfil its own agendas.

“We are taken to events only to be numbers and rubber stamp their agendas. They only talk about us but never do anything to help. I think there should be an advocacy group that is serious about us. Others that are in existence are just there for the sake of being there,” said Mr Sigaqa.

The City confirmed that Mr Sigaqa is on the City’s Housing Needs Register with an application date of April 13, 2017. Unfortunately he has not been selected for an opportunity as yet.

Mayoral committee member for human settlements, Carl Pophaim said beneficiaries of all City housing projects are allocated in accordance with the City’s Allocation Policy and the date of registration on their Housing Needs Register. “This is to ensure that housing opportunities are provided to qualifying applicants in a fair, transparent and equal manner, and to prevent queue jumping. Applicants are selected for housing opportunities based on the date that they registered on the City’s Housing Needs Register,” he said.

Mr Pophaim added that each housing project invites applicants based on the order of the date on which they applied from the following three categories; applicants who reside within the target area (the areas near or surrounding the planned housing development), applicants who have been registered on the Housing Needs Register the longest, but who live outside of the target area, i.e. the greater Cape Town metro, and applicants in the following specialised category, the elderly and people with a permanent disability.

“There is no specific time-frame which residents must wait before they may be allocated a housing opportunity as it depends on the availability of housing opportunities and whether applicants qualify when the opportunities do become available. It is important to remember that all housing projects have different dynamics in terms of the size of the project, the number of applicants who may qualify and the application date range for that project.”

Mr Pophaim said the Register is a fair system which ensures those who are most deserving will receive opportunities in each project.

He said it provides a mechanism to objectively determine who gets an opportunity. The City remains committed to providing homes to residents in well-located areas close to public transport, jobs, government services and public amenities.

It is important for all beneficiaries to keep their address and cellphone number up to date so that the City can contact them when it is their turn to be assisted. To do so, they can visit https://web1.capetown.gov.za/web1/HWL2012Online/