Cape Town - The Bitou Municipality misled the human settlements standing committee about how R3.9 million was spent on an abandoned emergency housing project, according to committee chairperson Matlhodi Maseko (DA).
The committee recently met the national and provincial human settlements departments, as well as Bitou and Knysna municipalities to discuss why R4 million worth of temporary housing building material is still lying unused since 2018.
The material was meant to be used to build temporary homes for 71 families, as part of the municipality’s emergency housing programme. It was distributed by the national government to the municipality after a fire gutted more than 60 houses in Kurland, Qolweni and Kwa-Nokuthula in June 2018, but the communities reportedly rejected the building plans.
Maseko said: “The evidence indicates that an additional R1.5 million has been paid for the delivery and relocation of materials as well as the excavation and clearing of land. Therefore, nearly R5.4 million has been spent on a housing project that is yet to go anywhere.”
She said: “The rejection of the proposed houses and the continued mismanagement of the building materials procured with funding from national government mean that these materials were moved not once or twice, but three times ‒ at great cost ‒ only to be left unused at the Plettenberg Bay Airport for nearly three years.”
Responding to the accusations, Bitou mayor Peter Lobese (Active United Front) said the municipality was still waiting for an official report by the standing committee.
Lobese said: “It is shocking that the DA would make such statements while we are still awaiting the report. We are not surprised by their over zealousness to issue such a statement because they have long concluded that there is foul play in the implementation of the project.
“The representatives from the National Department of Human Settlements, the donors of the R3.9 million emergency grant, said they were satisfied with the report submitted by the Bitou Municipality and that there was no foul play in the manner that their grant was utilised. They understood some of the challenges encountered.”
Lobese said, however, that the municipality was happy to co-operate with the findings of the report from the Standing Committee, should it require more clarification.
Cape Argus