Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbite in English by Freddy Sonakile
It has been brought to the DA’s attention that the Head of Department (HOD) of the Department of Human Settlements, Ms. Kgomotso Mahlobo, wrote letters to several contractors, informing them that the department is unable to pay their invoices.
The HOD first wrote to contractors in December 2023, ensuring them that any unpaid invoices would be settled by January 2024. Payments were again not made, instead, contractors received another letter stating that payments will be made by 1 April 2024, the start of the new financial year. (See copies of letters here and here.)
This announcement has a dire impact on the already delayed housing projects in the province. Several projects have been put on hold because of the department’s reported cash flow deficit.
In Mahikeng’s Dithakong Village, the contractor, SP and NM Holdings, have halted development of previously blocked projects until the department settles its unpaid and overdue invoices.
The department budgeted R780 million in the 2023/2024 financial year for the construction of 5,409 housing units. The Department must be able to explain the expenditure of the current funds considering the reported cash flow crisis in the department. In short, where did the money go?
In his budget speech last year, the MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements, and Traditional Affairs (CoGHSTA), Nono Maloyi, acknowledged that 76 projects were blocked in North West. The department’s egregious mishandling of the situation will only result in additional projects being blocked and an increasing number of residents left without homes.
The DA will write to MEC Maloyi, demanding that he provide a comprehensive report on what the R780 million intended for the construction of 5,409 houses during the current financial year was spent on. Also, in addition to outlining which projects have been suspended, why the contractors have not been paid and how the current allocation has vanished.
While the ANC government continues to steal and mismanage finances allocated for housing in North West, the DA in Western Cape advocates for accelerated housing initiatives. With the resolute focus that housing projects are scaled up to meet the pressing needs of our communities.