Lungani Zungu
At first glance, one would be forgiven for thinking that no one lives in a lone partially-collapsed hut in Ezikhumbeni village in Ulundi.
But this is the place that 59-year-old Ngoyi Biyela from Ulundi, in the north of KwaZulu-Natal, calls home.
“I have given up hope that I will ever get a RDP house. I have made peace that this is my home and I will die here,” Biyela told Scrolla.Africa.
Biyela is unemployed and is not yet eligible for the old-age pension grant because he is still 59-years-old.
After 27 years of waiting for a RDP house, Biyela said he is fed up and will not vote anymore.
“What’s the point of voting if the politicians don’t deliver on the promises they have been making since 1994. I’ll live in my collapsing house and keep my vote. I’m not voting for anyone,” said Biyela.
Local chief Nkosingokwakhe Mthembu pleaded with the government to help Biyela.
“I have been trying to make sure that he goes to bed with food in his stomach for many years.
“Can the government please intervene and help Biyela live a decent life,” said Mthembu.
Many of Mthembu’s immediate family members have died, including his two children and he has been living alone, with no one to depend on.
Biyela was among the people who don’t have electricity and water in the area.
A neighbour Khumbulani Ngcobo said: “What I see every day is very painful. No person is supposed to live like Biyela”.
The KZN provincial government said it was rolling out basic services for impoverished people in the province.
