The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Limpopo calls on the MEC for Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Basikopo Makamu, for an independent audit into all housing projects over the last decade to identify defaulting contractors, retrieve or implement contractual penalties and to assess the quality of workmanship on projects.
The Department’s Human Settlements programme has been marred with poor planning, maladministration and corruption for more than 15 years.
During 2014 -2019, the target to build 80 600 was prioritised by the department, but it failed miserably and returned more than R1.7 billion meant for housing back to Treasury.
The reasons given by the department for their dismal performance are that some units were scattered in remote rural areas, the delays in procurement processes due to non-responsive bids and non-performing contractors.
The human settlements programme receives the lion share of the COGHSTA budget and it is concerning that the department now seemingly blames the municipalities and the fact that ”houses cannot be built without services” for the backlog.
This statement is indicative of not only poor planning and incompetence, but the overall decay of municipal infrastructure which the department seems oblivious to.
Despite exceeding the underwhelming target to complete 4555 housing units by 511 more houses built during the previous financial year, the provincial backlog continues to increase.
Based on the above performance, the backlog of 96 495 will take two decades to eradicate, amidst an increasing demand and a dwindling budget.
This is the tenth year since Social Housing units in Marapong, Lephalale Local Municipality, are under construction; the department has been citing poor performance by the principal agent and the contractor as reasons for no completion for eight years without any sanctions taken.
We urge MEC Makamu, to show zero tolerance for defaulting and incompetent contractors; the aspirations of the poor and vulnerable cannot be held hostage by unscrupulous contractors and their complicit cadres in government.