Apartheid is not to blame for the fact that the national and provincial departments of human settlements are depriving the poor of houses due to corruption and fraud. It is the result of the ANC government’s greed, which has become an acceptable norm of state administration.
In addition, the ownership of state houses is only rarely transferred to the people who receive the houses and it seems as if this is a political trick that the ANC is using to keep the voters dependent on, and loyal to, the ruling party.
To date, the poor have not benefited from the money allocated to the Department of Human Settlements – only the ANC and its cadres have.
In the Free State, under the premiership of the ANC’s Secretary-general, Ace Magashule, the department in 2010 paid R631 million to contractors, including Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the wife of former Minister Fikile Mbalula. To date, no houses have been built with this money.
The mandate of the Department of Human Settlements is undermined by extensive misadministration, corruption and looting. The same holds true for provincial departments where billions of rands are lost through irregular expenditure and squandering.
In practice, contractors are allowed to take part in the looting of state money by charging inflated prices and doing substandard work. The houses are literally falling apart.
There are cases where people who received houses ten years ago had to evacuate the building because it was unsafe due to poor workmanship. To date, these houses have not been rebuilt.
The minister simply cannot allow things to continue in this fashion. Those who are dishonest must bear the consequences. Blaming the past and Apartheid will not provide the poor with housing.
South Africa needs a responsible and accountable government. The present government is only looking out for itself and its own at the cost of the poor.
Contact numbers: 082 674 6670 / 065 801 7216
