SDM R12m title deeds grant unspent
"It is unacceptable that residents continue to suffer without any documents to prove that they own the houses that they live in."
SEDIBENG.- While residents occupy houses that they are unsure are their’s, a R12 million grant from the government, to the Sedibeng District Municipality (SDM), is said to remain in the coffers of the municipality unspent.
The grant was meant to help in transferring title deeds to the rightful beneficiaries in Sebokeng Extension 12 (Kanana), Johandeo, Evaton and Sicelo, Meyerton. Under the leadership of Executive Mayor, Lerato Maloka, the SDM encompasses the financially troubled Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM), the Lesedi Local Municipality (LLM) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) led, Midvaal Local Municipality (MLM).
Maloka is also a former LLM Executive Mayor.
The DA has said that it is unacceptable that residents continue to suffer without any document to prove that they own the houses that they live in and that the rightful beneficiaries are being denied the security of tenure by the SDM.
DA’s Kingsol Chabalala, who is the party’s Constituency Head in Emfuleni North and a member of the Gauteng Legislature said that this information was revealed by the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile, in a written reply to the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL).
” According to MEC Maile, the municipality received R13 132 800 in the 2014/15 financial year and only spent R862 375. This money was spent on paying the service provider for transferring 884 title deeds. MEC Maile states that the unspent grant was never sent back to the National Treasury and the money still reflects as an unspent conditional grant in the financial records of the municipality,” said Chabalala.
Chabalala further said that the DA demands that MEC Maile must engage with SDM to ensure that the R12 million unspent grant is used to ensure the transfer of title deeds to the residents who have long been waiting for the title deeds.
“We also demand to know why the money has been unspent, yet the residents are in dire need of title needs. The DA will continue to put pressure on the department to ensure that all the rightful beneficiaries are issued title deeds so that they will have full ownership of their houses.”
At the time of going to print Sedibeng Ster had requested comment from the SDM’s Saviour Kgaswane, the Acting Head for Communications
and Stakeholder Relations.
* (This is an evolving story).
