R220 million later and not one house to show for it

An oversight visit was conducted by the DA today where we discovered that the Department of Human Settlements awarded a R220 million project to Mafuri Turnkey Projects (Pty) Ltd, for the development of 728 community residential units to replace the old asbestos-roofed row-housing blocks in Thabong, Welkom. The project’s initial completion date was March 2016, yet to date nothing has been done.

The DA will ask questions in Parliament through our Housing Spokesperson, Solly Malatsi MP, and will also take the matter to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for investigation.

There is no evidence of how this R220 million was spent. People were swiftly moved and abandoned under a bridge where there is no water, sanitation or electricity, forcing them to relieve themselves under trees and putting women at risk of being sexually assaulted.

Essentially, these people have been failed twice by the very government that is supposed to be protecting them. They have now also fallen victim to crime.

The forensic report that the former minister of Housing, Lindiwe Sisulu, promised to institute in 2014 should be released urgently so it can shed light on what happened with the allocated funds.

The people of G-Block Matjhabeng deserve a caring government that will put prioritise their safety and their basic needs. The DA is that government, it is ready to bring total change for the people of Free State.

Statement issued by Patricia Kopane, DA Free State Provincial Leader, 23 April 2018