ActionSA complains about the misuse of funds at Helen Joseph Hostel
The City of Johannesburg refers allegations of misuse of funds to its Group Forensics and Investigation Service while ActionSA vows to approach the office of the Public Protector.
The City of Johannesburg has confirmed receipt of complaints from ActionSA PR councillor Shadrack Mkonto’s claims of misuse of public funds relating to the refurbishment work carried out at the Helen Joseph Hostel in Alexandra.
The city, while acknowledging that it considers such allegations of the misuse of funds as a serious matter, has since referred the matter to its Group Forensics and Investigation Service (GFIS).
In a statement in reply to questions sent by Alex News, the city said the Department of Human Settlements does not take accusations of [the misuse of] funds lightly, hence the matter has been referred to GFIS to investigate what has been brought to the attention of senior management.
“We, therefore, request that law enforcement agencies, including the Chapter 9 institution as and when it receives the formal pending complaint, be allowed to conduct their work thoroughly so that they can focus on any unlawful or improper conduct as claimed by ActionSA Joburg Caucus,” the statement said.
Mkhonto said his party, after concerns about the misuse of R17.5m that had been earmarked for renovations to the hostel. “After an oversight visit by the City of Johannesburg’s Section 79 Petition Committee, it was revealed that none of the work completed at the hostel amounted to the allocated budget of R17.5m.
“The hostel is still pretty much dilapidated due to a lack of infrastructure repairs which subjects the women residents to unpleasant living conditions and we have decided as ActionSA to take up the matter with the office of the Public Protector,” Mkonto said.
The Helen Joseph Women’s Hostel is one of three hostels in Alexandra that were built by the apartheid government in 1972 to house migrant workers. In its statement, the city said its intentions have been to re-develop the hostel into family units.
The Housing Development Agency (HDA) is implementing the project on behalf of the city. The initial phase of the project is to develop the decanting facility at Ext 52. This development is at the planning stage, wherein the consultants are engaging with the heritage council to obtain a permit to demolish the existing structures.
Though the intention is to demolish the structure to make way for the new development, the City of Johannesburg’s Department of Human Settlements still has an obligation to do repairs and maintenance work. The hostel is not in a good state due to poor maintenance because of budget constraints and the department has become reactive with regard to repairs and maintenance.
The infrastructure in the facility is old, resulting in recurring blockages, burst water pipes and leaking roofs, etc. Vandalism of the infrastructure has become the norm, with timely repaired/refurbished infrastructure becoming vandalised, with taps, pipes, and fire extinguishers being stolen.
In the 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years, R17 million was spent on reactive and planned maintenance work. The Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco) implemented the project on behalf of the department for the refurbishment of the facility.
The scope of work included water restoration at a cost of R688 733.26 for a period of two months’ work, the restoration of units after the fire which included firewalls, roofing, plumbing, electrical, etc. at a cost of R3 313 758.08 for two months’ work and painting of kitchens and common areas at a cost of R2 811 843.74 for two month’s work.
Cleaning and maintenance at a cost of R2 727 795.71 for an 18-month duration of work and another cleaning and maintenance R7 804 387.17 for six months, including what was termed as professional fees and conditional assessment for R224 986.10 for a period of six months, and all in all amounting to R17 571 504m.
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