This statement follows our oversight visit to Lephalale Community Residential Units by DA Shadow Minister of Human Settlements, Solly Malatsi MP and Lephalale Local Councillors, Stephen Manamela and Astrip Basson.
Please find attached soundbites in English and Sepedi by Mr Malatsi.
Today, on our oversight visit to the Lephalale Community Residential Units in Limpopo, the DA engaged with residents who still do not have safe and dignified housing four years after the project was launched.
This project was launched in 2016 as part of the ANC government’s broader plans to convert hostels into community residential until. However, work on the project stalled shortly afterwards due a series of payment disputes between contractors and sub-contracts, and the Limpopo Department of Co-Operative Governance and Human Settlements.
To date, the only structures on site are walls, which are not fit to live in, have been subsequently abandoned and represent a waste of public funds.
Therefore, the DA will write to Minister of Human Settlements, Nomaindia Mfeketo, to institute an investigation to probe how much money was paid to the contractors to build these houses, which have yet to be completed, and whether any funds have been recovered due to the dispute.
This is just one of many examples of how the Limpopo provincial government continues to underperform dismally in the provision of housing.
The DA has been actively conducting oversight inspections across the country, witnessing at every turn how the ANC government’s utter failure and rampant corruption has compromised housing delivery.
This is a damning indictment against the ANC government who have failed to deliver dignified housing for South Africans.
The ANC government’s failure to execute its mandate demands a response from the electorate. In 2019, the people of Limpopo will have the opportunity to rid themselves of the failing ANC-government and to vote in a Party with a proven track record.
Access to housing is a constitutional right. The DA believes that the people of South Africa deserve the dignity of owning a home and a government who keep their promise to deliver this. We will continue to work tirelessly until all South Africans have a house to call home.