POLOKWANE – The Polokwane Municipality and the Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) have both warned against an RDP scam doing the rounds on social media.
Read more: RDP houses: Rules and regulations
A post on Facebook calls for prospective RDP applicants to apply via WhatsApp or over the phone and states that applications are now open.
Municipal spokesperson Thipa Selala told the Polokwane Review that the post is not official communication from the municipality and that they know nothing about it.
“The process is not open yet. But once open, it will be published with all requirements for qualification stated on the publication,” he added.
Selala said there are a number of social media pages claiming to assist people who have applied to get approval and people who wishes to apply for RDPs.
“Some of these scammers demand cash payment from the unsuspecting victim for approval of an RDP house. Any social media page requesting you to ‘apply and get approval’ must be viewed with suspicion.”
Selala added that the matter has been escalated to the municipality’s By-Law Enforcement office for further action.
“The municipality wishes to put it on record that there is no cash payment required from applicant to get an RDP housing approval,” he said.
The RDP application process at the Polokwane Municipality is open for only one quarter from July to September each year as follows:
– An applicant registers their housing needs at the municipality’s Itsoseng Entrepreneurial Centre (next to Bus rank);
– Upon registration, an applicant produces their ID, proof of income and proof of birth of their financial dependents;
– The application is captured on the National Housing Need Register (NHNR)
– Whilst the application is on NHNR, the allocation will dependent on the availability of sites in the municipality and number of housing units allocated for the particular financial year
– The municipality will prioritize those on the database for allocation with main focus on their needs
Coghsta spokesperson Hitekani Magwedze told Review that the RDP process is solely done by the Polokwane Municipality and that it is not done virtually.
“People who come across these posts should suspect them as dangerous scams. We urge people to approach the municpality or their ward councillors for applications when they open,” he said.
Earlier this month, the municipality announced that they will be building their own RDP houses at the start of the new municipal financial year starting in July.
Read more: Polokwane mayor outlines muni’s plans
Executive Mayor John Mpe said the municipality welcomed the level two accreditation which gives them the authority to build RDP houses to its constituencies.
“Once we receive the necessary budgets from the National Treasury, we will be able to build houses for our qualifying members of the community. It will no longer be like before when we had to wait for housing allocation.”
