Sanele Magaqa

Dear MyPE The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements has spent almost R622 million on 25 unfinished or abandoned housing projects. These shocking statistics were contained in written answers to parliamentary questions submitted by the DA to the MEC for Human Settlements. Of the 9 413 planned units to be constructed in these 25 projects, only 4 243 were actually built. There are various reasons given for this state of affairs from contracts expiring, problems with beneficiary … [Read more...] about Eastern Cape wastes millions of rand on unfinished and abandoned housing projects

Dear MyPE The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality will have to fork out R24-million from its Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) for the re-planning of Soweto on Sea. This follows the shocking revelation that some houses in the area were built on top of burial sites and that the houses built are of appalling quality. The MEC for Human Settlements, Nonkqubela Pieters, has said in a parliamentary response that once the re-planning has been completed, the Department would then fund the top … [Read more...] about Grave error to cost Nelson Mandela Bay R24-million, for starters

Dear MyPE Along the outskirts of Ward 7, in Great Kei Municipality, more than 500 toilets scatter the area, a prevailing symbol of the ANC’s failed service delivery. This is another toilets in the veld scandal, just like the R12-million spent on 1,140 toilets in the veld outside Komga, and the R630-million Siyenza toilet scandal. Everyone seems to be benefitting from toilet contracts, except the community. The Department of Public Works approved a contract to build the lavatories in … [Read more...] about Choose your number, Choose your Toilet

Dear MyPE The dream that the peaceful village of Qunu, the home of Nelson Mandela, would be developed into a state-of-the-art city, has been scrapped, five years after the initiation of the project that has cost the tax payers tens of millions, with nothing to show for it. This is money that could have been spent on addressing the massive housing backlog and building houses for the poor! Initiated in 2012 by then Human Settlements MEC, Helen Sauls-August, the aim of this project was to … [Read more...] about Qunu City project scrapped after millions spent on consultants

Dear MyPE The Eastern Cape Department of Human settlements need to come clean and state clearly what investigation, if any it will be conducting into alleged illegal occupation of 116 houses by residents in Vergenoeg, East London. A parliamentary response from the MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August, reveals that no formal investigations have taken place to verify whether the correct beneficiaries have occupied the houses. To view the response, please click here. The illegal … [Read more...] about Illegal occupation of BCM RDP houses a ticking time bomb

Dear MyPE Throughout the Eastern Cape, beneficiaries have been forced to stand by and watch as houses that they have been waiting decades for stand empty and are vandalised, while the Department shifts the blame. In response to a parliamentary question, Human Settlements MEC, Mulungisi Mvoko, has stated that the Department refuses to spend money on repairing any houses that have been vandalised due to non-occupation. Instead, Mvoko insists that it is the contractor’s responsibility to … [Read more...] about Vacant houses being illegally occupied, vandalized while department shifts the blame

Dear MyPE The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements only managed to issue 606 title deeds to housing beneficiaries in the 2017/18 financial year. The DA believes that land reform should also include urban land, by ensuring that beneficiaries of state-subsidised housing projects receive their title deeds quickly and efficiently. In a reply to a legislature question I asked the former MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August, stated that the department had issued only 606 of … [Read more...] about Only 606 title deeds issued by Human Settlements to housing beneficiaries in 2017/18

Dear MyPE Human Settlements MEC Helen Sauls-August must clarify why a housing project for Breidbach was awarded to a company whose directors had been placed under sequestration. On Thursday, it was reported in the media that the department had acquired 163 sites from the Buffalo City Metro on which to build RDP houses in Breidbach. Does this form part of the deal with DCI Holdings? This community, just outside King William’s Town, has been crying for houses for years now and has seen a … [Read more...] about MEC must clarify Breidbach housing tender to company with sequestrated directors

Dear MyPE According to the Department of Human Settlements, less people in the province will receive housing. The planned target for the 2018/19 financial year is at 8567 units in contrast to the 12 453 units that were constructed in the 2017/18 year. The immense reduction in the amount of housing units will pose a challenge in resolving the current provincial housing backlog which currently sits at over 600 000 units. This is bound to aggravate the current backlog due to the fewer … [Read more...] about EC Department of Human Settlements fails to meet housing targets

Dear MyPE A response to a legislature question from the MEC of Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August, confirms that due to funding constraints and a 2016 national directive on rectification, the prospect is slim for many RDP housing beneficiaries to ever have a dignified home. I visited the small town of Bedford in the Amathole District Municipality in December, where I met Mrs Mavis Bambiso, a widow from the area. She now lives in an informal settlement after her house was demolished in … [Read more...] about The Personal Side to Callous Rectification Budget Cut

Dear MyPE Another housing project, this time in Alicedale in the Makana Municipality, has been abandoned after the contractor claimed that he had not been paid by the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements. Unlike the ANC’s failed projects the DA is committed to the speedy rollout of housing in the Eastern Cape. We will not abandon the people. When I visited the town two weeks ago, I was shocked to find that out of the 27 planned houses, only one house had been completed and 12 … [Read more...] about Abandoned Housing Project Leaves Beneficiaries Without Homes