Home sweet home for gogo Lucy (105)!

GOGO finally gets an RDP.

After years of being homeless, 105-year-old gogo Lucy Raseboka has finally received keys to her own home.

Gogo Lucy was 76 years old when she first applied for an RDP. However, she found herself moving from place to place, searching for a permanent place to call home.

With an expression of disbelief, Gogo Lucy watched as government officials handed her keys to her new RDP in Lufhereng, Soweto, on Thursday, 6 February.

Speaking on gogo Lucy’s behalf, her daughter Phyllis (61), who shares the same plight, revealed she’s among thousands in the province still waiting for RDPs.

“We’ve been moving from place to place, renting backrooms. Rent became too expensive, so we decided to build our own shack in Freedom Park. Initially, we were hesitant as we heard stories about people killed in their shacks, but we eventually moved in there,” she said.

After enduring many years of difficult living conditions, gogo Lucy moved to a shelter in the Joburg CBD, the Linatex House, in 2016, where she lived with her daughter and two abazukulu.

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“At that time, we would rotate between the shelter and Freedom Park to maintain our stand there. It was tough, we couldn’t do much in that small room. It felt more like a passage. We had to wait for the kids to fall asleep before we could take a bath,” recalled Phyllis.

Gogo Lucy has endured the harsh realities of apartheid evictions, forced removals and long periods of renting under difficult conditions. She was evicted from Alexandra in 1940 and relocated to Diepkloof, Soweto.

The family first applied for an RDP in 1996 in Diepkloof and reapplied in 2006. However, they had to reapply later that year after the library burned down.

Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements MEC Tasneem Motara said the department’s current focus is prioritising those who applied in 1996.

“The backlog is at 300 000 for those who have registered on the human settlement system. On average, we can only build around 8 000 houses across the province.

“We’re thrilled to celebrate with today’s beneficiaries, 42 in total, ranging in age. The oldest is 105 and most of them registered between 1996 and 1999. We also have individuals living with disabilities or differently abled persons,” she said.