Thembisa Shologu​
The days of living in a shack for the Mhlahla family have finally come to an end. On Sunday the Atteridgeville family walked into their new three-bedroom house.
In 2017, the family had their brick house mistakenly destroyed by the Red Ants who were hired by the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements to execute an eviction order.​
Constance Mhlahla said living in a shack was not been easy for the family and had lost hope that the department would keep its promise of rebuilding their house. 
"This is the happiest day of my life; I did not expect that this day would ever come after the pain that our family has been through and endured," said Mhlahla.
The house was donated to the family by M Kona Consulting Engineers and Allco Development in partnership with the Department of Human Settlements at a cost of R350 000. 
MEC Lebogang Maile who visited the family apologized for the inconvenience that the department had caused. 
"It must be emphasized that this is not a favour, we have not done you a favour, this is what every self-respecting and caring government should do," said Maile.
He said government would continue to work hard because the problem of homelessness and shortage of housing is huge in our province. 
"Someone might see this as a small contribution, but we are building towards the ultimate goal of making sure that all our people have got decent shelter. 
"We are continuing to invest enormous resources as the provincial government towards developing infrastructure not just building houses, and for us to be able to grow the economy we need our people to be living in decent places to be in good health and to be active citizens who must contribute," said the MEC.