Daily Sun (September 2 2013) - MANY YEARS AGO, Simon thought his hard life in a drum would end when building material was delivered to his yard. But the material was taken away, and desperate Simon has now turned to the highest office in the land. "THIS IS HOW I LIVE, MR ZUMA. PLEASE RESCUE ME," HE CRIES.
Simon Mahlangu (56), a sad and forgotten widower from rural Sterkfontein in Groblersdal, is one of many struggling residents of Limpopo. The mud house where he was born was washed away 50 years ago, and now his grandson lives in a tiny mud house.
And Simon sleeps in a rusted 44-gallon drum surrounded by mud walls. His grandson is at primary school. "In the last 15 years I've applied for a RDP three times but my application has never been successful," he told Daily Sun.
He said he has all the correct forms but the authorities tell him he doesn't qualify for an RDP. "Once I was given hope when a truck arrived and delivered cement and bricks in my yard," he said.
"The material stayed here for a long time until one day a truck arrived to collect every piece of the material and drove off." He said they told him it was a mistake.
"They said the house wasn't meant for me," he said.
He said he has been alone since his wife died years ago. "And my daughter is also struggling somewhere. "She doesn't stay with me," he said.
Simon said he used to work in a factory in Joburg, but many years ago he was retrenched after he got sick.
"I came back here. This is where I was born and lived with my parents,'' he said. "Because I am sick and the company didn't give me any money, I am unable to build a house."
When the SunTeam got to Simon's barrel-house, he had just woken up. His grandson had gone to school. He has no proper clothes and gets government food parcels.
Spokesman for the Limpopo Task Team Sipho Dikgale said: "It's very sad that there are still people who are suffering even after 19 years of democracy."
He said the government is rolling out the services by giving people RDP houses as fast as they can.
"I believe people like Simon should be helped. "These situations should be reported to the local government and investigated," he said.
"From our side we will speak to the department and see how we can come to Simon's rescue."
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