The FF Plus has serious questions about the housing backlog in Gauteng, particularly in light of the fact that the Department of Human settlements underspent approximately R73 million in the last financial year.
As a result, this amount has now been forfeited and must be paid back to the National Treasury.
The backlog with building houses for those in need spans over many years and will not be easily, or quickly, eradicated.
At present, Gauteng has a backlog of 1,2 million low-cost housing units.
Many of the people who had registered for RDP houses as far back as 1996 and 1997 have still not received houses.
In an investigation into the situation in Gauteng, the Human Rights Commission (HRC) found that the provision of housing is delayed by municipal maladministration, a lack of control over housing projects and corruption.
In the FF Plus's view, it is interesting to note that the issue of corruption always comes up in government projects run by the ANC, and that even the HRC has pointed this out.
It truly is like a golden thread that runs through all ANC-controlled public projects.
The HRC also indicated that many of the completed housing projects are of very poor quality and have structural defects that render the houses unsafe for human habitation.
These tenders can, of course, all be traced back to the strict enforcement of Black Economic Empowerment (BEE), which opens the door for incompetent service providers with ties to the ANC. It goes hand in hand with corruption.
There is also maladministration and corruption with the lists of beneficiaries who are waiting to receive houses.
The HRC's investigation found that some of the houses that were meant to go to people on the waiting lists were given to others. The friends and family members of the officials managing these lists often benefit unlawfully.
Clearly, the ANC cannot even manage the projects that directly impact the majority of its voters, and that the most important thing for ANC cadres is to ensure that they, their friends and family benefit at the expense of those who have been waiting for a house for 27 years.
The FF Plus will pursue the matter further in the Gauteng Legislature.
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