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DA action sees GDHS register title deeds for Inxiweni residents in Tembisa

The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS) has succumbed to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) pressure to issue title deeds to the rightful beneficiaries of Inxiweni Walkup RDP houses in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni.

Immediately after a DA public meeting with the rightful beneficiaries of Inxiweni Walkup RDP houses, the GDHS visited the area to begin the process of collecting Home Subscriber Server (HSS) forms. These forms are used to collect data about the rightful beneficiaries to register their title deeds

Please see the photos here and here.

It has been 13 years since the beneficiaries of Inxiweni were allocated their houses and have still not been issued title deeds. This delay has severely affected these residents who have no documents to use as proof of ownership of the housing units that they live in.

GDHS has promised the residents that the process of registering the title deeds will begin this week so that they can have their security of tenure and human dignity restored.

We will continue to monitor this process to ensure that all the rightful beneficiaries of Inxiweni receive their title deeds.

Where the DA governs in municipalities across the province, we ensure that all beneficiaries of housing projects are issued with title deeds so that they can have full ownership of their properties for the benefit of their families.

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New Sethokga Hostel development illegally invaded, rightful beneficiaries continue to suffer

The rightful beneficiaries of the new Sethokga Hostel development project in Tembisa continue to be exposed to terrible and inhumane living conditions while their newly built housing units have been illegally invaded.

The new Sethokga Hostel development project was invaded in 2016, and the matter is still in court. The rightful beneficiaries are still residing in the old and dilapidated old Sethokga Hostel.

The old hostel structure has been neglected and lacks proper and regular maintenance. The building structure has severe cracks, water and sewer leaks, and the kitchen appliances are not working.

Please see the images here and here.

It is alleged that most of the illegal invaders do not live at the units, but they are renting out the units to tenants.

In 2017, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements began to build another hostel block for the hostel residents residing at the old Sethokga Hostel. The construction is now in its final stages; however, the contractor has abandoned the project due to financial disagreements with the department.

The DA demands that the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements must review its agreements with the Department of Infrastructure in terms of the construction of housing projects as it constantly rewards tenders to service providers who do not have the financial capacity to complete the work.

We also demand that the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, must urgently engage the department’s legal team to speed up the process of evicting the illegal invaders so that the rightful beneficiaries can be allocated to their units.

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13 years later, Inxiweni residents continue to suffer without title deeds

The residents of Inxiweni RDP houses in Tembisa, Ekurhuleni, continue to suffer without the security of tenure as the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements delays in issuing them with title deeds.

The rightful beneficiaries of Inxiweni RDP housing units were allocated to their houses in 2009 and to date, they have not yet been issued with title deeds.

This has severely affected the residents as they do not have any documents to use as evidence of proof of ownership of the housing units that they live in.

This information was revealed to the DA during an oversight inspection in the area.

In some cases, the rightful beneficiaries have since passed away, and they left their children and grandchildren who are living in fear as they do not have any documents to prove that their spouse owns the property.

Some residents claim that the previous ANC-led Ekurhuleni government informed them that these housing units belong to the municipality, not the rightful beneficiaries.

Please see the images here, here, and here. 

Delays in issuing these rightful beneficiaries with title deeds opens the system to corruption as some beneficiaries claim that they have been issued with new house numbers that are different from the initial numbers that they were given when they were allocated into these housing units.

The DA will be directly engaging with the Gauteng MEC of Human Settlement and Infrastructure, Lebohang Maile, to ascertain why the rightful beneficiaries of these housing units have not yet been issued with title deeds. The ANC government needs to understand that every title deed delayed is dignity denied to the residents of this province and the DA will write to the Public Protector, Kholeka Gcaleka to request her to investigate the matter.

Title deeds play an integral part in redressing the injustices of the past and empowering families for generations to come.

We will continue to demand that MEC Maile’s department must issue title deeds to these beneficiaries as they are being denied the security of tenure. Where the DA governs in municipalities across the province, we ensure that all the beneficiaries of housing projects are issued with title deeds so that they can have full ownership of their properties for the benefit of their families.

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Hundreds of Protea South residents face eviction threats, yet there is no guarantee that they will be allocated housing

Hundreds of Protea South residents in Lenasia who have been residing in the area for decades are now facing eviction threats from the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements without any guarantee that they will be allocated housing.

It is unacceptable for the department to evict people without providing alternative accommodation as these people have nowhere to go.

Today, the DA held a public meeting with the concerned residents of Ward 10, Protea South who are living in fear of being evicted. According to the frustrated residents, in 2006, there was a resolution by the City of Joburg which confirmed that parts of the land in Protea South are dolomite and that the residents will be migrated to Roodepoort farm.

They also claim that in 2014 there was a court ruling that confirmed that the land in Protea South is not at high risk of dolomite and the resident can continue to build and live on it.

The residents are concerned that pressure is looming for them to be evicted, yet there have been delays in building houses for them at the Roodepoort farm.

Furthermore, they claim that there is an R60 million budget that was allocated for the Upgrading of Informal Settlement Program (UISP) which is meant to improve the lives of informal settlements residents.

The DA demands answers from the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, on why the department is continuing with the evictions despite a court ruling.

While we acknowledge that dolomite is a life-threatening mineral and property risk, we suspect that this current government is using it as an excuse to gain access to the state coffers to enrich themselves. There is also a government building that will be constructed on the same land where people will be evicted, and we also demand to know who will benefit from this project.

The DA is not against protecting our residents from the risk of dolomite and other natural disasters; however, we are against the current government using service delivery issues as a cash cow.

We have engaged the residents of Protea South and have agreed to jointly go to the office of MEC Maile to seek answers patterning to the future of these residents. The DA will continue to stop the current government from benefiting at the expense of our residents who are in desperate need of dignified housing.

Come 2024, when the DA is voted into power, we will build adequate housing and provide Gauteng residents with title deeds.

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Over 6000 Madala hostel residents live in appalling conditions due to Premier Makhura’s failure to deliver houses

Over 6000 Madala hostel residents in Alexandra continue to live in appalling, inhumane and unsanitary conditions due to the failure of Premier David Makhura’s government to deliver dignified houses to hostel residents across the province.

The Madala hostel residents, like many hostel residents across the province, have lost hope and are tired of empty promises from the current government.

There has been no proper or regular maintenance of the hostel, and the building structure has deteriorated into disrepair. There are water leaks and no electrical connections. The lack of proper drainage systems is leading to regular sewer blockages, resulting in raw sewerage flowing all over the place around the hostel.

See photos here, here, and here.

Today, the Democratic Alliance (DA) conducted an oversight inspection at Madala hostel, and was shocked to discover that the health and safety of the residents is severely compromised as the environment is not conducive to human habitation.

We have visited this hostel on several occasions and the living conditions have worsened instead of improving. There are also unfinished temporary relocation units next to the hostels, and there are no timelines as to when they will be completed.

The DA demands answers from the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and COGTA, Lebogang Maile, about his department’s plans to address the conditions which the Madala hostel residents are exposed to daily. We also demand that these temporary relocation units be completed urgently so that Madala hostel residents can be relocated while there are looking for a permanent solution.

The DA will also raise this issue with MEC Maile and the Human Settlement and COGTA Portfolio Committee at the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).

Hostel residents across the province are tired of empty promises from this current government that has failed to deliver houses.

In 2024 when the DA is voted into power, we will amongst other things deal with the corrupt housing lists, conduct an audit of hostel dwellers who have registered for house allocations since 1998/99 and not allocated to ensure that they are also prioritised. We will also push the budget towards maintaining hostels to ensure better conditions than what people are subjected to now.

 

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Supporting businesses of Women, Youth and People with disabilities not a priority for Gauteng Dept. of Human Settlements

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is deeply concerned that the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements is failing to support and empower businesses owned by women, youth and people with disabilities.

This was revealed in the department’s First Quarter Report for the 2019/20 financial year.

According to this report the department failed to meet its targets in terms of procurements from businesses owned by women, youth and people with disabilities.

The table below indicates the department’s first quarter planned targets and the outcomes:

Department procurement budget targeted at businesses owned by: 1st Quarter planned target Outcomes
Women 30% 8,46%
Youth 20% 2.91%
People with Disabilities 5% 0,32%
Total 35% 11,69%

It is worrying that the department only achieved 11,69% of its procurement target with regards to businesses owned by women, youth and people with disabilities out of 35% which has resulted in a shortfall of 23,31%. Not even a half of the targeted businesses benefited from the department’s procurement spend.

This clearly indicates that the department does not value the need to grow small businesses for the benefit of our economy.

The department’s underperformance and incompetence in the procurement sector is crippling small businesses that have the potential to contribute to the national GDP and create employment opportunities.

We call on the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile to consider giving preference to companies owned by women, youth and people with disabilities across the different projects in his department.

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Gauteng Department of Human Settlements consistently fails to reach its housing targets

The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements has once again failed to reach its own set target for the First Quarter of the 2019/20 financial year.

According to the 2019/20 department’s First Quarter Performance Report they underperformed across all their targets.

The table below indicates the department’s programmes, first quarter planned targets and the outcomes:

Department Programme 1st Quarter planned target Outcomes
Approved beneficiaries allocated to available housing units 1906 405
Approved beneficiaries allocated to available serviced sites 2427 0
Land parcels acquired for development of human settlements 1 0
Sites serviced for the Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP) phase one which includes planning and services for informal settlements 200 0
Sites serviced for theIRDP phase two which includes; top structure construction: informal settlements 2227 343
Houses completed forthe Integrated Residential Development Programme phase two 1906 1706
Upgrading of Community Residential Units 41 0

This clearly indicates that this department is not capable of delivering on its mandate.

The reasons given for the department’s underperformance are late payments of the contractors, poor performance by the contractors and delays in the appointment of contractors. All of these relate to project management, of which it seems the department is incapable.

It is completely unacceptable for the department to consistently underperform yet no one is held accountable.

This department is clearly not serious about delivering on its core mandate of providing houses to the people of this province. We challenge the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, to walk the talk instead embarking on PR exercises.

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Gauteng Department of Human Settlements underperforms, fails to deliver on housing target

by Mervyn Cirota MPL – DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Human Settlements

The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements constantly fails to reach its targets and underperforms in housing development projects.

According to the Department of Human Settlement’s fourth quarterly report for the 2017/18 financial year, the department did not achieve its target of 1845 individual housing subsidies for qualifying beneficiaries under its credit-linked programme.

This indicates that there were no subsidies issued by the department to the beneficiaries of this category.

This is completely unacceptable as our people are being denied access to housing due to this department’s incompetence.

Furthermore, the department only managed to provide 219 housing subsidies under Finance Linked Individual Subsidy Programme (FLISP) against its planned target of 1953.

The department is failing dismally to manage these housing subsidy programmes properly, and in so doing, has left thousands of Gauteng residents in the lurch.

The department has given a number of excuses for its failure to deliver such as, delays in appointing a contractor and beneficiaries not qualifying for the programme due to affordability.

It is clear that this department is failing on its mandate to deliver houses to our people.

The DA calls on Gauteng Premier, David Makhura to urgently intervene and ensure that housing subsidies are provided to our people who are desperate to own dignified houses.

The ANC-led Gauteng administration has failed to build houses and to provide housing subsidies for our poor people in the province. Gauteng residents are desperately in need of a government that puts their needs first and only the DA can bring about this much needed change.

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Mashatile overspends but under-delivers

 

Despite overspending its 2016/17 budget allocation by R219 million, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, under the poor leadership of MEC Paul Mashatile, under-delivered by failing to meet some of its own key targets. This is unacceptable given the growing housing crisis in the ANC-run province of Gauteng.

Some of the key targets for the fourth quarter of 2016/17, which the ANC-run Gauteng Provincial Government failed to deliver on, include:

  • Failing to meet its procurement targets;
  • Only 66 out of 94 of its proposed projects were ready for tender;
  • Zero beneficiaries were trained through its skills development coaching and mentorship, despite a target of 2500;
  • The Department failed to conduct performance reviews for the quarter under review; and
  • The Department only transferred 830 (or 44,5%) residential properties to beneficiaries, missing the target of 1865.

At a time when the people of Gauteng, especially the poor, struggle for housing it cannot be that the critical Department of Human Settlements fails to deliver on its key targets.

Perhaps if MEC Mashatile focused his efforts on his Department, instead of internal ANC politics and working to undermine DA-governed Gauteng municipalities, there would be a better story to tell about the state of housing in Gauteng.Gauteng Department of Human Settlements

Under a DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government we will commit to delivering quality services, including houses, to the people of Gauteng.

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R7 Million In 7 Years Allegedly Spent On Upgrading Wattville Hostels

Gauteng Human Settlements MEC, Paul Mashatile, revealed in a reply to a DA question that the Wattville Hostel in Wattville, Ekurhuleni has been refurbished at a cost of R7 million since 2010.

It is alarming that R7 million was spent in 7 years with absolutely nothing to show for it.

Click here to view the response.

The DA visited the Wattville Hostels last week as part of an oversight tour aiming at addressing and highlighting the plight of Gauteng’s most vulnerable residents living in horrific conditions.

According to the reply, plans for refurbishment were placed on hold by the National Department of Human Settlements due to cost escalation.

The Ekurhuleni Metro and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements has failed in championing the basic human rights and dignity of the residents of Wattville.

Click here, here, here, here and here to view the images.

Ekurhuleni Mayor, Mzwandile Masina laid a wreath at the gravesite of the late OR Tambo in remembrance of his selfless service to the people of South Africa in Wattville on Friday, however, he chose to ignore the inhumane living conditions at the Wattville Hostels. OR Tambo would be ashamed.

The ANC have for far too long forgotten the people of South Africa.

The DA will ensure that the living conditions at Wattville Hostels are improved and that the city delivers services to all its residents.
 

 

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