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The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng is calling on Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA), Lebogang Maile to speed up the process of allocating housing units to the rightful beneficiaries.

We note with great concern that there are a number of completed and unoccupied housing units across the province that have been illegally invaded and some have been vandalised.

The completed housing units in Fleurhof, South West of Johannesburg have been invaded and some units have been vandalised and are in the process of being repaired.

There are 342 housing units and 754 rental rooms that have also been invaded and occupied illegally at the Malibongwe Ridge project in Johannesburg.

There are also 230 housing units in Meadowlands and 34 units at Mzimhlophe in Orlando West Women’s hostel that have been completed and are unoccupied.

In Clayville Extension 45, Ward 1 and Extension 71, Ward 92 Tembisa the illegal occupants have occupied the houses. There are also allegations that government officials sold the houses.

Unnecessary delays in allocating the rightful beneficiaries to their housing units once the project has been completed has resulted in illegal occupation of the houses.

The illegal occupants are costing the department more money in terms of legal fees for eviction orders, eviction processes as well as repairs for the damages.

It is high time that the department must ensure that no completed housing units are left unoccupied once the project is finished. The department should ensure that the verification of the rightful beneficiaries is done while the housing units’ construction is at its final stage to avoid delays in the allocation process.

The department should ensure that they adhere to the Gauteng Housing Allocation Policy which seeks to ensure that the housing allocation process is implemented across all the housing programmes in a fair, equitable and transparent manner.

We will table questions to MEC Maile in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to determine how many completed and unoccupied housing units the province has; the reasons why they have not been allocated to the rightful beneficiaries; when will they be allocated and how much has been spent on repairs for those units that have been vandalised.

Issued by The DA