But residents complain that safety has been sacrificed
By Peter Luhanga
Entrepreneurs are making huge profits by buying RDP houses, bulldozing them to the ground and building blocks of flats towering above surrounding houses and backyard shacks in Dunoon township near Milnerton.
The safety of the multi-storey apartment blocks dominating the township skyline is being questioned by residents.
Some RDP houses are being extended into a series of single room flats off a central corridor with shared ablutions. In some cases a single storey is added on the top to create more rooms.
One entrepreneur has set a new trend. After purchasing an RDP house, he demolished it and is building a four-storey block of flats to rent. It is the first four-storey apartment block in the township.
Backyard dweller Erick Mzingile, whose shack is in the yard of an RDP house next to the multi-storey apartment block, said he was shocked to see the height of the building.
Mzingile said the building posed a high risk to tenants should a fire break out. “We don’t know if it will stand severe weather. We didn’t see building inspectors. We just saw it taking shape,” he said.
Coki Dumisani, whose RDP house is right next to the apartment block, said he was not sure whether his house would be safe in the long term.
But one neighbour whose RDP house is a property away from the high-rise building, said he did not see any problem as the plot belonged to the entrepreneur, who was free to build what he pleased.
READ MORE: http://www.groundup.org.za/article/housing-demand-leads-dunoon-building-...