Note to Editors: Please find the attached soundbite in English and Afrikaans by CJ Steyl.
The North West Housing Corporation (NWHC) may have illegally begun construction of bulk infrastructure at the proposed Hillview Township Project in the City of Matlosana and may have intentionally misled the North West Legislature’s Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs during a meeting held on Friday, 17 October 2025.
The NWHC informed the committee that it began construction for bulk infrastructure.
The projected cost for the establishment of bulk infrastructure at Hillview is estimated to total R471 million.
The North West Department of Human Settlements appointed the NWHC as the implementing agent for this mega project in February 2024. See attached. One of the mega construction projects proposed in the North West for which there is still no secured funding.
The DA raised concerns in the committee about whether the NWHC has obtained all relevant approvals under the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act (SPLUMA), which include an environmental impact assessment, a completed public participation process, and all necessary approvals under the provisions of the act for the township establishment, which include an approved township layout plan as well as a project timeline, and whether the relevant funding has been secured.
The NWHC informed the committee that the SPLUMA process has not been completed, but it obtained an exemption from the municipality to proceed with the construction of bulk infrastructure. Establishing bulk infrastructure in the absence of a layout plan will cause problems with the future development.
Following this meeting, the DA conducted an oversight inspection at the Hillview site, where the construction of access roads and bulk water and sanitation lines is underway.
The DA’s Caucus Leader in the City of Matlosana, Cllr Gerhard Strydom, was requested to verify whether the City of Matlosana had received an application for exemption to proceed with construction in the absence of a completed SPLUMA process and whether the municipality issued such an exemption. The Town Planner was engaged yesterday, who indicated that neither an application was received nor an exemption issued and that the SPLUMA process has not been concluded.
The City of Matlosana would also be in contravention of SPLUMA if it had issued an exemption. When the DA raised concerns in committee that the expenditure towards establishing the Hillview bulk infrastructure could amount to wasteful expenditure should the development not be approved under SPLUMA, the NWHC indicated that they are not bothered because they will fight any opposition to the project in court.
This level of arrogance is entrenched within the NWHC, specifically around its commitment to proceed with proposed mega-city projects like the Hillview Township Project, which seeks to construct 4 700 residential units with recreational and business amenities, despite the Legislature resolving that no such projects may proceed until COGHSTA MEC Oageng Molapisi and the Provincial Government disclose whether funding has been secured, from where, and what the repayment terms would be.
Neither the NWHC nor the Department of Human Settlements has the funding, and neither does the North West Provincial Government have the fiscal muscle to either borrow or fund these mega projects.
The NWHC’s annual budget is limited to about R62 million; the funding of R471 million from the Department of Human Settlements is also not confirmed since it is currently struggling with accruals that will total between R600 and R700 million in the current financial year because of budget cuts, and the provincial fiscus remains constrained.
The Department of Human Settlements confirmed that no payments can be made to the NWHC for the first phase of the Hillview Township project for bulk infrastructure, as per Section 8.2, which stipulates that construction may only commence once the SPLUMA processes have been concluded.
From the information we have obtained, the NWHC’s construction at Hillview appears to be illegal, in contravention of SPLUMA as well as its contractual agreement with the Department of Human Settlements.
The DA has written to COGHSTA MEC Oageng Molapisi to immediately bring construction to a halt. See attached.
We have also written to the Chairperson of the Committee, Kgalalelo Makgokgowa MPL, to summon MEC Oageng Molapisi, the NWHC, the Department of Human Settlements and the City of Matlosana to account to the Legislature for how this project could be initiated, the costs incurred, the payments made to date, the contractors appointed and what action will be taken against individuals that may have been involved in proceeding with this project outside of the SPLUMA process, which is in breach of the contractual agreement. See attached.
The committee should also investigate whether the NWHC wilfully misled the committee on obtaining an exemption, and, if proven true, prosecution should follow.
Simply put, there is absolutely no way these mega projects are funded, and it is worrying that despite the lack of secured funding, the ANC-led provincial government remains hellbent on initiating mega projects because wherever there is a mega project, the opportunity for corruption, fraud and theft becomes lucrative for cadres.
The DA remains committed to infrastructure development, and we will continue to advocate for investment in projects that benefit the people across the province rather than the ANC political elite.