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The Democratic Alliance (DA) has handed over a dossier of reports to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) highlighting alleged financial mismanagement, contract interference, and corruption within the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements (DHS) and local municipalities.

The reports focus on the failure to pay more than R25 million in certified claims—R15.3 million in Matatiele and R9.7 million in O.R. Tambo.

This non-payment has forced RDP housing projects to a standstill, leaving thousands of vulnerable residents without homes. Contractors have been left unpaid, workers laid off and partially built houses now stand at risk of vandalism and decay, turning what should have been homes into symbols of state failure.

The evidence submitted to the SIU highlights alleged violations of the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) and the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).

Certified claims have also been ignored or rejected without reason, while project budgets have been mismanaged or diverted.

Instead of ensuring that homes are delivered to those in need, the Department appears to have interfered with contracts, crippling service providers.

Allegations of bribery and preferential treatment have also surfaced, with some contractors reportedly pressured to pay kickbacks in exchange for payment approvals. Despite clear breaches of finance laws, senior officials continue to act with impunity, while communities suffer.

This cannot be allowed to continue. The SIU must urgently investigate where the missing funds have gone, who is responsible for obstructing payments, and why certain politically connected contractors are allegedly being prioritised.

Immediate action must be taken against those who have deliberately sabotaged housing projects. This is not just financial mismanagement—it is an assault on the people of the Eastern Cape.

The Democratic Alliance will not stand by while government incompetence and corruption rob the people of the Eastern Cape of their right to housing. We will continue to fight for accountability, for the enforcement of financial laws, and for the rightful completion of these projects. The SIU must act without delay. Those responsible must face the consequences, and the people must get the homes they were promised.

The DA will not stop until justice is served and the Eastern Cape government is held to account.

The people of the Eastern Cape deserve more than broken promises. They deserve a government that upholds their right to a home, restoring not just roofs over their heads, but the hope, dignity, and security that come with it.

Issued by Chantel King MPL - DA Shadow MEC for Human Settlements