The MacKenzieville Housing Project is no longer on schedule – in fact, construction at the multi-billion rand Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) project has reached a complete stop.
This according to DA councillor Wollaston Labuschagne who on May 7, requested urgent intervention from the MMC for Human Settlements in Ekurhuleni, Lesiba Mpya after rumours of a financial predicament started to surface. “General labourers on site approached the local community liaison officer, claiming they have not been paid since the end of March,” Labuschagne said.
He added that he requested a copy of the so-called beneficiary list from the department of Human Settlements in Ekurhuleni for almost a year, but to no avail.
“The required subsidy application process has also not even been implemented yet. This basically means that no beneficiary list exists and community members are becoming increasingly annoyed with the department’s lack of communication,” Labuschagne explained.
A petition form containing over 60 signatures from MacKenzieville community members was recently handed over to Labuschagne. Some of the concerns raised in the petition are as follows:
* the size of the stands (40m²) and the distance between the houses (1,6m);
* there is no garage/carport for residents to park their vehicles;
* construction of the houses was found inadequate and not suitable for humans to live in.
During January when HERAUT visited the construction site, occupancy was said to be expected around the final quarter of 2018, but it appears the department of Human Settlements have counted their eggs before they hatched.
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