The aggrieved tenants staged a march from the Brandwag flats, where they reside, to the Bram Fischer Building in the city’s capital on Wednesday, March 27, to voice their concerns. They handed in a memorandum of demands to the management of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality seeking urgent intervention regarding the tenants’ strained relationship with the Free State Social Housing Company (FRESHCO). The memorandum gives the municipality seven days to respond.

The breakdown in communication emanates from a recently-proposed rental hike amidst the company’s financial woes and alleged inability to render services at the complexes. It is reported that the small group of frustrated residents stopped sending FRESHCO rental fees directly as a result of the issues. They opted to send the money to a caretaker for safe keeping instead after being informed that those who did not adhere to the alleged more than 30% rental increase would be evicted. Tenants maintain the social housing project has been developed for people with an income bracket of R1 500 - R7 500 and they cannot afford the proposed hike. There was also the issue of FRESHCO being liquidated which fuelled the fire further.

One of the residents says anonymously that FRESCHO is in such financial ruin that it has not been able to pay the security company which is supposed to guard the premises. She alleges the company wants to increase rent in order to pay its debt. Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality spokesperson, Qondile Khedama, told OFM News previously they have challenged FRESHCO’s liquidation and the social housing company has been placed under administration in an effort to protect the tenants. Khedama is yet to provide comment on what the metro has done of late to assist the tenants, but he has stressed in a previous interview with OFM News that tenants who do owe the company will be given the boot. When probed about tenants who boycotted paying rent, due to the lack of services, Khedama said owing tenants will be broke up into categories and assessed. FRESCHO has come under the spotlight on several occasions, over the years, over mass evictions some of which were challenged in the Free State High Court.

OFM News