Gogo wins housing battle with Knysna municipality

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has directed the Knysna municipality to provide a pensioner with a house within 120 days.

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has directed the Knysna municipality to provide a pensioner with a house within 120 days.

Published Feb 2, 2022

Share

CAPE TOWN - The public protector has directed the Knysna municipality to provide pensioner Lydia Bosman with a house within 120 days, after a subsidy was approved for her in 2009 but a house was not built for her - despite other applicants receiving their homes.

“We found that it was true that the municipality failed to provide Ms Bosman with the house after having approved it. On several occasions, Bosman engaged with the municipality, unsuccessfully requesting that her house be built,” Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane said in her report into the matter released this week.

“The municipality conceded she had applied for the house and a subsidy was approved in that regard on March 26, 2009. She has been prejudiced as no house has been built for her despite one having been approved for that purpose. The conduct of the municipality in this regard is accordingly improper as envisaged in the Constitution and constitutes maladministration and undue delay. It also prejudices Bosman.”

The acting municipal manager was directed to apologise to Bosman in writing within 30 days and take “urgent and appropriate” steps to ensure Bosman is provided with a low-cost house.

“In addition, the acting municipal manager must take appropriate steps in respect of disciplinary action against the municipal officials who were implicated in non-compliance with the municipality’s policies and procedures that resulted in the undue delay to provide Ms Bosman with a house,” Mkhwebane added.

The municipality also has to conduct regular audits and review the adequacy and effectiveness of controls, processes and procedures on the delivery of low-cost houses and report accordingly, the public protector said.

The history of the complaint dates back to February 1, 1996 when Bosman applied for low-cost housing.

In correspondence to the public protector, the municipality said they had requested a local contractor to erect a 40m2 Breaking New Ground house for Bosman with a site inspection already having been completed.

They later came back saying the contractor was not available and they had to pursue an alternative plan.

After reporting more challenges to the public protector’s investigating team, the municipality said they had to submit an application for funding to the provincial government, or ask the municipal council to fund the construction - saying they were not in favour of the latter approach.

The municipality said yesterday it could not comment on the matter at this stage.

“Knysna municipality is currently liaising with the public protector about the report. We cannot provide any further comment at this stage,” municipality spokesperson Nwabisa Pondoyi said.

Chairperson of community organisation Knysna United, Reverend Ralph Stander said they were happy with the outcome.

“We are very happy that the public protector is ruling in the favour of the community. The community for too long has been lied to by the municipality and politicians, and the community must just be happy and content with what they are getting.

“Now we have a higher authority saying that municipalities must give good service to the people and it’s in line with the Constitution. Our people deserve better - now it’s just a matter of implementation,” Stander said.

Cape Times

Related Topics: