In Hoedspruit, along the R527, abandoned vendor stalls have turned into makeshift housing for 120 displaced people.
They lost their homes in November 2025, when an unattended candle sparked a fire that tore through the small informal settlement of Plastic View.
Maruleng Local Municipality housed them in a municipal hall for three months. In January 2026, they were told to leave.
Six months after the fire, the conditions they are now living in are arguably worse than before, and the municipality is no closer to finding them decent living conditions.
Cramped and Unsafe
30-year-old Conscious Moripa lives in one of the stalls. She shares the tiny room with no window and poor ventilation with three other women.
Two sleep on a single bed tucked tightly in the space, while the other two sleep on a sponge mattress on the floor.
“It’s not nice staying here. We are not safe, our shacks don’t have doors,” says Moripa.
The residents complain of poor sanitary conditions and of municipal toilets that are sometimes too dirty to use, so they’re forced to relieve themselves in the bush that’s adjacent to a busy road.
“Sometimes we have to bathe outside [in the bush]. Others move things around so that they can have space to bathe in the rooms,” she says.
Unaffordable formal housing
The luxury tourist town that’s surrounded by wildlife estates and private game reserves has no other place for them to stay.
The town’s other informal settlement has no space, while formal accommodation is costly.
Most of the former residents of Plastic View come from nearby towns and villages to work in Hoedspruit’s tourism and service economy as gardeners or domestic workers, earning a minimum wage.
A basic room in town costs R2500 per month, an amount that’s steeply unaffordable.
Moripa barely earns R3000 taking on piecemeal domestic work, and she has to send money back home to her parents in Burgersfort.
Leaving Hoedspruit isn’t an option, as it’s the only town that offers employment opportunities.
“I will not go anywhere soon because this is where I find piece jobs,” Moripa says. “We keep asking the municipality for help. They always promise us a place to stay, so we are hanging on to that promise.”
Municipality slow to come up with a lasting solution
According to Justice Shipalana, the municipal spokesperson, the municipality does not own most of the land in Hoedspruit, and it’s difficult to find alternative land for housing.
“The area where they were [previously] located is a road reserve [meant for the expansion of] of the R527 Road, which belongs to the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL). By law, no one is allowed to build on the road,” says Shipalana.
He explains the municipality is currently in the process of establishing a township of 600 stands, a process that started in 2020. However, Health-e News visited the area at the end of April 2026, and construction not started. “Those who qualify for housing assistance will be dealt with in terms of the National Housing Qualification Criteria,” he says.
The Hoedspruit Concerned Ratepayers Association have long wanted the informal settlement to be removed, taking the municipality to court before the fire.
“The municipality is taking time to find a lasting solution to resettle the former Plastic View residents,” says Bert Hofhuis, chairperson of the association.
“The municipality should take responsibility. These people need a place with proper sanitation and water so they can continue with their lives,” says Hofhuis. — Health-e News
