/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Gauteng residents, who are desperately seeking dignified living conditions, have faced significant setbacks due to the failures of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS). This department has blocked 45 crucial housing projects throughout the province, amounting to over R6 billion, leaving 1.3 million residents feeling neglected and abandoned without viable options for secure and adequate housing.

Many residents in Gauteng are forced to endure inhumane, unsanitary, and appalling living conditions while this department fails to fulfill its mandate.

This information about the halted projects was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Tasneem Motara, in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance's (DA’s) written questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

According to MEC Motara, 45 housing projects initiated as far back as 2008 have been blocked and are incomplete. The initial total approved budget for the project was a total of R6 672 147 630,61. This amount will significantly increase due to bad workmanship, vandalism, and costs required to secure the projects.

The MEC further reveals that the department is unable to provide the legal documentation, including contracts and land use agreements for each unfinished housing project, because the hard copies were lost at the department’s Bank of Lisbon building that burned down. No explanation is given by the MEC as to why no electronic documentation exists.

Among the reasons cited by the MEC for each abandoned project in Gauteng is poor contractor performance, which led to the termination of contracts.

The DA, through extensive oversight inspections across Gauteng, confirms that there are many more than the 45 projects mentioned that are abandoned and in a state of disrepair.

The DA has in the last two weeks inspected the Montrose Mega project in the West Rand and two projects in Sithokga, Ekurhuleni, which confirm the department's lack of planning and implementation strategy. It has become clear that no effective cooperation exists between the departments and the metros, which is one of the fundamental causes for the delays in the completion of projects, some of which remain abandoned or vandalised nearly 20 years after commencement.

Furthermore, no meaningful and deliverable plan with effective timelines has been presented by either the MEC or the department for the residents on the housing waiting list.

A DA Gauteng Provincial government would have hired competent contractors to complete these projects and blacklisted those that fail to do the work.

The DA will demand MEC Motara's immediate appearance before the Human Settlements Committee through formal channels. We will also call for a full forensic audit of all blocked projects and the immediate implementation of a province-wide project recovery plan. The people of Gauteng cannot wait another day while R6 billion worth of housing projects lie abandoned.

Issued by Mervyn Cirota MPL - DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements