Johannesburg — Residents of the township of Alexandra in Johannesburg have warned of an uprising over foreigners living in RDP houses.
Masango said she had registered three times for an RDP house, but was told she would need to pay R3000 or R6000 if she wanted to get one. “I’m staying in a shack… life is difficult. Some days you come home and find your bed is wet because of the rain.”
Another resident, who did not want to be named, said the people of Alexandra did not want to live with the foreigners.
On Tuesday, residents put up posters warning foreigners to vacate RDP houses. They delivered pamphlets to the houses and hung posters on street lamps.
It was reported that the posters, which were hung up, read: “You are violating our rights to own our RDP houses”.
Residents have given the foreigners until Sunday to vacate the houses in the township. Residents say foreign nationals are receiving RDP houses before the locals because they are able to pay.
25-year-old resident, who did not want to be named, said people in S’swetla, an informal settlement in Alexandra, were being moved into the RDP houses.
Some people call their friends and tell them to come build a house by the bridge, because then they will be moved to an RDP house,” she said.
The woman said she was also worried about violence flaring up over the issue. The best people to sort out the problem were those in the African National Congress Youth League, she said.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201110191240.html