Relocated residents enjoy new life
Patricia Edwin | Friday May 23, 2014 11:45
Now the couple is among the 43 people who have been moved, or are to be moved to Gerald Estates to pave way for the upgrading of the Francistown-Tonota Road, which began last year.
Part of their home has been demolished and they are staying on one side awaiting completion of their new and resplendent home at Gerald Estates.
However, Montshiwa’s main worry is that Somerset East is nearer to facilities where they could simply get service at short notice.
“My husband is not well and it was easy for us to just call a taxi to go to Nyangabgwe Hospital, but we will be further away,” she said, though she is more than ready to move to Gerald.
“We have no problem because we will get used to it,” she said, adding that they are very excited about going to stay in a brand new house.
“We will make it our home. It took us a long time to build this home but even that one we will make it home. I will plant my flowers as I was doing here before,” she said.
From Mmegi observations, it seems the relocation of the 43 residents to make way for the road project was a blessing in disguise.
Residents are now getting ready to start afresh in Gerald Estate.
The new Self-Help Housing Agency (SHHA) plots in Gerald are a far cry from the slum they occupied at the low-income area of Somerset East.
Upon observation of the two locations yesterday, this publication noted that this is a true makeover story.
At the beginning when it was mentioned that 43 people would have to be relocated to make way for the long awaited road project, there were mixed reactions from the residents.
In Gerald Estates where the residents have been relocated to, the first impression is that of an upcoming suburb. All the houses are of a higher standard.
People were compensated according to the value of their plot at the former area, but still the standard of building in Gerald Estates has a qualitative tone to it.
Some people have put up castles, others small cottages, while others have built large houses.
Certainly, the landscape of the area looks like a portrait of a historical town in an American movie.
In Somerset East their dwellings ranged from big to one-roomed houses roofed with zinc, but in Gerald all the plots have houses that are modernised, mostly spotting tiled roofs.
Construction is rife in Gerald Estates as is demolition in Somerset East. City Mayor James Kgalajwe said that the residents have started moving out to occupy their new plots in Gerald.
He said they have no issues except that of the Chinese trader and another resident. The Chinese trader bought four residential plots with the intention of turning them into commercial use.
But when he was told by the FCC to move out and get compensation, he refused, hence Kgalajwe said they have applied for a court order to evict him.
The other issue that the mayor talked about was that of the two people who have a matter before court, as one of them had sold the plot to the other, but is now demanding it back.
The matter is pending before the courts, according to Kgalajwe.
The P1 billion project, by China Railway Seventh Group, commenced last year and is expected to be completed next year.
The project is said to be behind schedule because of the relocation of the plots, identification and even removal of water pipes, electric cables and so forth.