MEC must probe R85 million Tshwane housing scandal
The DA in Gauteng will request an official investigation into the Saulsville housing development project which is unfit for occupation despite the inflated R85 million price tag. According to the Pretoria News this morning the Tshwane municipality and Gauteng Housing Department spent millions on the block of apartments that do not meet building requirements fit for people to live in (see here).
The report also highlights the fact that the municipality and the province paid R817 000 for each unit, which is less than 50m2. This staggering price tag for one house could have bought at least 12 of the 40m2 free standing two bedroom houses being rolled out by the DA-led Midvaal municipality. A total of 1 300 houses could be built with the Midvaal model for the R85 million allocation.
This brazen waste of public money and disregard for the serious housing needs of the people of Tshwane must not go unpunished.
Gauteng Local Government and Housing MEC Ntombi Mekgwe must investigate the inflated cost price for these houses and the failure to complete the contract to the requirements.
The MEC must ensure that the contractors are not just blacklisted but also prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
It is time that the City of Tshwane and the Gauteng Housing Department show that they, too, are serious about housing.
Statement issued by Janet Semple MPL, DA Gauteng Housing Spokesperson, April 29 2013
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