97-YEAR-OLD OUMA'S 57-YEAR WAIT FOR HOME

A 97-year-old ouma from Strandfontein is still fighting for a house after waiting for public housing for 57 years.  

Gadija Jaffer's family claims that city officials tampered with her mother’s records and that  a house allocated to her was given to another family.

During an interview with the Cape Argus, daughter Sharifa Jaffer said her heart was broken that her mother’s desire to have a home of own was not a priority and that she had visited City officials, including Ward Councillor, Elton Jansen offices on numerous occasions:

She says: “My mother has been waiting since 1968 for a house and every time I go to City officials they place her application backwards.

“They told me that there was a house allocated for her and I said yes I heard about this but where is this house.

“If they want to say my mother refused a house or that she was aware of the house, why did they not let her sign.

“She has never refused.

“That property they are referring to, has been allocated to someone else, which they claimed she did receive it

“Do they first want my mother to die, and then who will the house go to?

Jansen hit back on the claims, stating he gave his full support to the Jaffer family.

Jansen said following an investigation he learnt Jaffer was on the City housing database since November 2012 and that the matter was still being probed.

The City of Cape Town said in their response that a housing subsidy house was allocated to another daughter of Jaffer’s and coincidentally also fell onto her records.