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The DA in Polokwane will write to the respective chairpersons of both the Housing and Finance portfolios to request a joint portfolio committee meeting to call the Polokwane Housing association  (PHA) Board of Trustees to account for the projected R8.5 million deficit for the upcoming financial year.

This deficit is despite the inclusion of a R10 million subsidy in the city’s budget.

PHA, tasked with providing affordable housing to qualifying residents, continues to be marred by maladministration and a failure to fulfil its core mandate.

The entity failed to submit its Annual Financial Statements for the 2023/2024 financial year within the legally prescribed timeframe and regressed to a qualified finding.

For far too long, the PHA executive management and board  have relied on bailouts from the Polokwane Municipality, placing the financial burden squarely on the shoulders of the city’s residents. This cannot be allowed to continue.

Currently, Phase 2 of the Ga-Rena housing project which PHA is in charge of remains mostly unoccupied, having stood vacant for many months—incurring substantial financial losses. 

Initial delays were due to backup water supply issues, followed by the painfully slow pace of tenant placement.

Occupation of these units with qualifying residents will significantly help to address Polokwane’s housing backlog and alleviate the escalating problem of illegal land use and unregulated backyard dwellings.

Phase 1 also faces major issues. Numerous units have been vandalised and are now uninhabitable.

Furthermore, the project has been plagued by poor debt collection since inception. Without firm and effective leadership, this entity is on a continued path to inevitable failure.

Transparency and accountability are at an all-time low. Monthly financial reports are not submitted to the Housing Portfolio Committee, and no joint oversight meetings with the Finance Portfolio Committee have taken place in over 18 months.

Polokwane’s residents deserve better. They cannot be expected to continue to pay for the consequences of a failing, ANC-led administration.

Issued by Jacques Joubert - DA Councillor on MPAC- Polokwane Municipality