By Rorisang Rampheteng:
Dark City in Mangaung turned tense on Thursday when President Cyril Ramaphosa visited the Dark and Silver City housing projects, leaving Ward 3 residents disappointed and feeling unheard.
Residents gathered before his arrival, singing and holding placards that read “#NoFlat #NoVote” to show their frustration with the Department of Human Settlements. They say houses that were promised to them have still not been delivered.
What made things worse is that when Ramaphosa arrived, residents say he walked past them without saying anything, leaving many feeling ignored.
According to Seiso Mpiti, a community leader for the Dark City project, the situation became more confusing after a meeting held on 23 March 2026 with the mayor, Gregory Nthatisi and the MEC for Human Settlements, Saki Mokoena. “On 23 March 2026, we had a meeting with the mayor and the MEC, and he told us that these houses are for rental,” Mpiti said.
Mpiti said this is not what the community was originally told. He explained that the Silver City, also known as the Dark City project, was meant to give proper houses to Ward 3 residents who were living in old asbestos houses. “When this project started, its mandate was to give Ward 3 residents proper houses, better than the conditions they were living in. Government should keep its promises to the people and not change them,” he said.
Mokoena admitted that the department is facing many challenges. “There are a number of challenges we are battling with. We have already told the minister that we still have a lot of work to do, with about 160 000 to 190 000 serviced sites already completed,” he said.
The Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, said the other main focus in the Free State is to end the bucket system. “Our main mandate as the department is to eradicate the bucket system. The programme has already started, and investigations into abandoned government projects are also taking place,” she said.
She also said government is waiting for a report from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). “We will not leave a project where over R200 million was spent and move on like nothing happened. We are still waiting for the SIU report,” Simelane said. Simelane added that 130 rental houses will be ready for people to move into in April.
Ramaphosa said the seventh administration is focusing on renewal and reform. “There is a full process of renewal and reform that we are putting in place across different areas. We are entering a new phase of delivering human settlements in our country,” he said.
Even with these promises, many residents in Dark City say they are still waiting for what was originally promised to them proper homes, not rentals.- @NewsSA_Online
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