04 Feb 2018

Metsibotlhoko Village Development Committee (VDC) chairperson, Mr Thulaganyo Phori says failure by tenants to pay monthly rentals makes it difficult for the committee to fulfil its mandate.

In an interview, Mr Phori said out of nine houses that they have in the village, five of them were occupied but that they hardly received any monthly payments from the tenants despite the rent being P60.

“In the past we have even taken these tenants before the village tribal leadership to try and force them to pay, but to no avail. Some promise to settle their arrears but later renege. We had thought that the rent was reasonable enough to be paid even mid-month,” he said.

Mr Phori said the situation was made worse by the fact that some of their houses, which were their main source of income, were old and did not attract tenants.

He said their coffers were empty and that they have failed to renovate one of the houses that was burnt down by a miscreant.

The vice chairperson, Ms Bontle Kengalogile said their intention was to leave a lasting legacy when their term elapsed, but said challenges such as lack of water connection in the VDC houses made tenants to look elsewhere for accommodation.

She said that meant no funds were coming in to maintain the houses and leave them in a good status. She said Water Utilities Corporation had been delaying connection.

However, despite all the challenges, the VDC treasurer, Ms Reetsang Gaseitsiwe said in the next financial year, they were planning to build two more houses and a classroom block at the local primary school as a way of trying to develop their village. ENDS