For about five years, thousands of poor people in the Free State, living in apartheid-era low-cost houses, waited in vain for "life-saving" maintenance to their homes.
The work would cost R255m and replace about 40,000 asbestos-cement roofs.
"Because we are poor the government thinks they can treat us like poephols," said Myrim Humphries.
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"The government thinks we do not matter. But we do. Our lives count."
Humphries lives in Bakenpan, a community in Bethlehem. He said three inspectors came five years ago. They inspected 12 houses, but there are 700 in the township.
"The inspectors went to my neighbours' houses but they never came to mine. They were in the area for about an hour. They told people their lives were in danger, that their roof was poisoning them.
"Clearly the poison is not bad enough for the government to come and fix the roofs. There are people in our street who have died from lung cancer. Not one or two, but lots."
When a Sunday Times team walked down Bakenpan's main road, Medican Street, they found the families of five people who had died of lung cancer.
Maria Ackeer, whose house was inspected, said her mother died of lung cancer 10 years ago.
"Five years ago my neighbour's father died of lung cancer."
She said a "consultant" told her the roof had to be replaced. "When I asked why, he said it was bad and then left. My roof is still here and my mother is dead.
"I am angry because the government has done nothing to protect us. We hear money was paid but our roofs are still here."
She said she and her mother had lived in their house since 1975. "We have always been under the same asbestos roof."
Ewin Ackeer, unrelated to Maria Ackeer, said that three weeks ago he installed a ceiling in his asbestos-cement-roofed house after he had been to see a doctor.
"The doctor said I had to. For years I have been coughing and battling to breathe. Our entire family battles from all the dust that comes from the roof.
"I went to the doctor and he sent me for X-rays. When the X-rays came back, he asked me if I worked in a mine or on construction. My lungs were badly damaged."
He said his father, who lived with the family in the house, had died of lung cancer.
"I am afraid, especially for my wife and children. We all battle to breathe." No-one had inspected their roof.
"I am constantly fixing the holes in it. You can see the fibres on the edges of the holes. The holes are from hailstorms."
Rolene Miners, 73, said an inspector spent 10 minutes walking around her house.
"I was inside when I saw a man outside walking around with a clipboard. He said he was there to take the roof. I thought he was mad. He never came back."
Miners said the government could have built "nice houses with that money [used for the inspections]".
"They could have helped a lot of poor people," she said.
Richard Taylor said of the 700 houses in the area, only 12 had been inspected.
"People were told the roofs were dangerous and would be replaced," he said.
People in Fauresmith and Koffiefontein, nearly 400km away, are also angry.
Simon Africa of Fauresmith said five inspectors had come. "I showed them the holes in my roof," he said. The inspectors did not want to look inside his house, he said.
"There are 4,000 people living here. They maybe looked at 10 houses. They didn't ask any questions. They walked around, told us they would be back and left. That was five years ago."
Petrus Saul of Koffiefontein said an inspector had spent 10 minutes drinking tea outside his house.
"He said he was looking at my roof. He said it was a bad one and it would have to go. When I asked why, he just said it was bad.
"It has never leaked before. It's the same one that was there when my parents moved in the 1970s."
Gladys Ithuleng, who lives in an asbestos-roofed house in Bloemfontein's Kagisanong township, said no-one had inspected her home.
"We heard inspectors were coming but they have never arrived. I have lived here since the 1970s. This is the original roof. It used to be good but now it is falling apart.
"Every year it leaks, or bits break off it. There is so much dust from it. We are always coughing. We put in a ceiling in the kitchen which at least keeps the dust, which is very fine, off our food."
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