Johannesburg - Jacob Mamabolo, the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Local Government and Traditional Affairs, has blamed unnamed political parties for encouraging their members to vandalise and occupy RDP houses.
He made the claim in the Gauteng legislature on Tuesday in response to questions from DA spokesman on housing Mervyn Cirota.
Cirota was asking about the delay in the occupation of 292 houses in Brandvlei outside Randfontein, where the owners had been waiting for more than two years to occupy their homes.
Earlier this month, in a written reply, the provincial government said it had spent nearly R16 million to build these houses.
The project was built for Siyahlala informal settlement residents, and their allocation was approved in 2008.
The provincial government installed basic services in the area during the 2010/11 financial year.
Construction of the 292 houses was completed during the 2011/12 financial year, but the houses were never occupied by the rightful owners.
In that initial response, Mamabolo said that in 2012, Brandvlei had been affected by service delivery protests, and this hampered plans to settle the qualifying owners.
He added that phase two of the project was delayed in September of the same year when the owner of private land, a Mr Hoffman, died.
Mamabolo said his department had intended to construct a sewer line on the dead man’s property, but his death had stalled the negotiations.
He said that last year, the attorneys responsible for Hoffman’s estate had granted him permission to construct the sewer line, and a contractor was already on site.
Mamabolo said remedial work on the damaged houses was under way.
Despite his March 2015 deadline to ensure all 292 damaged houses will be occupied by their rightful owners, he told the legislature only 20 houses had been fully renovated and occupied so far.
He also asked Cirota to provide him with proof of people involved in corrupt acts, saying he would ask his departmental anti-corruption unit to look into the allegations.
Another DA MPL, Solly Msimanga, told the MEC that he was aware of various housing officials in the Pretoria area who owned more than three RDP houses and were renting them out to people.
Mamabolo promised to investigate some of the claims, but warned that some political parties, and not “necessarily those in the legislature”, were encouraging their members to vandalise and occupy RDP houses illegally.
None of the parties asked him to explain his claims.
The Star then asked Mamabolo to identify the parties and whether he had reported the matter to the police.
In his telephonic reply, Mamabolo was unable to reveal the identities of the parties, but said the “rumours were widespread”.
“I did mention third parties, including political parties. All that came as a result of a question from Mr Cirota. The allegations of illegal occupation of houses must be investigated.”
The Star