Johannesburg - Government departments keep shifting responsibility on the ownership of a Soshanguve school that has turned into a close-knit community for the poor.
From a distance, buildings that were once the property of Soshanguve Central Boarding School in Block H of the township, located about 30km north of Pretoria, appear abandoned. But a closer look at the dilapidated structures shows signs of life.
Like many properties in the country, occupation requires one to buy or pay rent to an individual or company. But no one can explain who are the owners of the various classrooms turned into flats. There is also no explanation of how those that live there acquired the building.
While children play in the yard, men and women walk about the areas as in any ordinary community. The dwellers who reside in the abandoned school property have formed a close-knit community of people from different cultural backgrounds, nationalities and ages.
A woman who has been residing in the area for over a decade said she first moved into her classroom makeshift “flat” when she was still a student at a neighbouring university (Tshwane University of Technology). She currently lives with her five children, grandson and husband. She did not wish to say how much she paid for the room and from whom she bought it, but instead said she loved her community.
“We live in harmony with my neighbours here. We do have our challenges as a community, but we are surviving,” said the woman.
The 10-block property is occupied by at least 300 residents, according to one of the community leaders, Walter Pitso.
Appearing guarded and watching what he was saying, Pitso made it clear that the community does not take kindly to strangers. Thus they have tight security, with guards who would pass for ordinary residents to outsiders. Pitso was reluctant to speak, but said they live by control and command systems. They make their own rules and whoever fails to follow those rules will be booted out of the community.
“As a community, we have a set of rules that we need to adhere to. I cannot speak on my own without other leaders. Whenever a decision needs to be made on anything, or who we talk to, there has to be at least five leadership members present,” Pitso said.
When asked about the history of the community, Pitso explained that some residents have been living there since 1997, from way before the boarding school was closed. The community then grew over the years as more people sought refuge.
“Before the school was closed, there was a time when there was a mix of residents and learners in the yard. I believe one of the reasons the school was shut down was because there were rumours that some male residents were sleeping with underage girls, and that became a problem,” he said.
The community wanted to continue making the former school more conducive to residents’ needs. They had developed their own sports grounds, where boys can play soccer, and a cleanly kept area called Banana Park, where children can play. The old school hall had been turned into a community hall for meetings and important gatherings.
As the community grew, some community members got opportunities to move to greener pastures. But before they left, they would have the opportunity to sell the classrooms turned into makeshift flats to someone else outside the community. That is, if the resident was leaving on good terms and was not booted out by the community. Pitso said if a resident is expelled, they forfeit their rights to their “flat”.
“One of our multiple roles as community leaders is to oversee the transaction between the seller and the buyer. We negotiate for the sale to be fair to both parties. We cannot expect a poor person to cough up R16 000 for a room (classroom); they are already desperate for shelter, and we understand their circumstances. Where would they get that much money? The maximum amount one can pay for a room is R2000,” Pitso said.
He said that although the community currently occupies the property illegally, they have been fighting to get legal ownership for years. Pitso detailed that in 2012, the community signed a petition to have the school converted into a government-recognised residential area, and the plan is still ongoing.
“We finally got attention from the Gauteng Legislature in January this year. We are currently in talks with them, and they promised they would include us in the 2022 provincial budget in September. However, I cannot divulge more information on that as it is confidential, and I do not want to jeopardise that,” Pitso said.
Gauteng Legislature’s Petition Standing Committee confirmed the residents had submitted a petition.
“It's an ongoing petition. There has been engagement between ourselves, the responding authority and the petitioners. As the legislature, we are not the responding authority, but we are only facilitating a process between petitioners and responding authorities, ” said petition officer Mbulaheni Likhade.
Meanwhile, Department of Infrastructure Development (DID) spokesperson Bongiwe Gambu said ownership of the school, referred to as Soshanguve Central – Portion of Erf 2076, was transferred to the province (Gauteng) in 1993, and was used by the Department of Education.
She said the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) handed over the property to the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) for residential purposes.
“GDE did not confirm if the said property was closed and gazetted. They, however, shared documents which showed that Portion 2, where Soshanguve Central is located, was handed over to the Department of Human Settlements. Therefore, the said portion falls within the custodianship of DHS,” Gambu said.
The departments did not indicate when and why the school was closed.