“Tlokwe housing list marred by corruption and mismanagement” – DA

The party said in a statement that it has conducted its own research to back up the allegations.

According to DA NW spokesperson, Nicolize van der Walt, three people who say their names were among those who were confirmed to have received RDP houses still live in shacks.

“Peter Nkwe is one of the victims of this corruption and mismanagement. He claims he went to the housing department to find out when he would receive the RDP house he had been promised. To his shock, records showed that the municipality had already handed it over to him and that he was living in it,” says Van der Walt.

Van der Walt says the party has also discovered that construction on many RDP houses was never fully completed before the houses were handed over.

“The owners had to complete the houses at their own expense. Other residents showed us the keys to houses they were given but don’t even exist. This happens when ANC councillors take advantage of people’s needs by promising them houses in exchange for votes,” she said.

The municipal spokesperson, Willie Maphosa, says the municipality stands by its earlier statement regarding the allocation of housing stands.

“There are people who were, indeed, allocated subsidies under the old blocked RDP projects. These were temporarily stopped when the municipality was determining the prevalence and severity of dolomite in the areas concerned. Now that the studies have been completed, the provincial department will unblock them.

“The municipality has written to the MEC in this regard and is awaiting the allocation of the necessary budget. The three people referred to above could fall under this category and should approach our department of Human Settlement to clarify their status in this regard.

“The case of Mr Peter Nkwe is but a drop in the ocean that is a clean, fair and justly drawn up allocation list. The allocation process itself has inbuilt verification mechanisms through a number of stages to avoid cases such as that of Mr Nkwe, for example, allocating a stand to someone who is already a beneficiary.

“Following this incident, our department of human settlement is further fine-tuning its verification systems to pick up and deal with similar occurrences at an early stage,” he said.

As far as the accusations of incomplete houses go, Maphosa added that the subsidies offered to beneficiaries have a limited value and it is, therefore, natural that residents would want to top them up to improve their housing units.

The DA also accused the municipality of preferential treatment when allocating houses.

Van der Walt says many residents they spoke to claim that ANC-connected members are given special preference when houses are allocated.

“They allege that ANC cadres jump from the bottom of the recipient list and receive houses before those who have been waiting for years. Some residents have also received more than one stand whilst others struggle to get just one,” she said.

Maphosa again defended the ANC on both counts, calling on the DA to substantiate these claims of preferential treatment and keys to houses that do not exist.

Van der Walt says the DA will take further steps.

“We will call on the MEC for Human Settlements, Fenny Gaolaolwe, to immediately launch an investigation into the scandal surrounding the Tlokwe housing list. We will request an audit of the list to establish whether or not ANC-connected families are given preference,” she said.

“Where the DA governs, the housing list is open to the public. We believe a transparent and open process eliminates corruption, ensures fairness and makes sure that services are delivered to all, not just the connected few,” she said.

In response, Maphosa said the party is within their rights to raise these matters with the MEC or any other legal authorities or chapter nine constitutional bodies.

“The municipal housing list is open for scrutiny and for people to inspect their names. People are also free to approach our Human Settlement department offices for further and deeper investigation, if necessary.

“This is the single most important tool upon which this municipality will fall or stand and we challenge anyone to take us on about it,” he concluded.

“On 3 August, Tlokwe can vote for change that will deliver betters services to all and get this municipality moving forward again, says Van der Walt.