In light of the recent allegations that councillors are allocating RDP houses to certain preferred individuals in Ekurhuleni, the Gauteng Department of Local Government and Housing would like to reiterate that the process of allocating houses is the responsibility of the department and not councillors or any other individuals. This decision was taken after wide consultations and after receiving reports of maladministration and corruption levelled against public representatives.
The current process of housing allocation replaced the previous process in which councillors were involved in the allocation of RDP houses to rightful beneficiaries by actually doing the physical allocation. The responsibility of allocation is now done by officials both from Department Housing and local authorities. The role of councillors and other public representatives is to oversee the process so that it’s done in a fair and transparent manner.
Gauteng Local Government and Housing MEC Kgaugelo Lekgoro reiterate the government’s policy which ambiguously states that “all applicants have an equal opportunity to housing assistance and no special deals will be struck with officials without action being taken.”
He adds, “The department would like to call upon all the people with information about councillors who are allocating houses to friends to report them to local authorities and the department’s anti-corruption unit to address any irregularity in the system.”
The department views these allegations seriously and stern action will be taken against any official who will be found to have acted improperly. Whilst respecting the citizen’s rights to protest, the department call upon on residents of the province to refrain from violent protests when raising their concerns.
Whilst efforts are being made by government to allocate houses it’s also important for members of the public to note that it is illegal for any person to sell a subsidised house. According to policy, a person is allowed to sell such a house only after eight years and government should have the first option of buying it. In number of public meetings, government has communicated this position and asked for members of the public to report such incidents.
“We want to advice our people to refrain from taking their hard earned money to give it to corrupt housing officials who promise to jump the queue. Anybody who spots an official claiming that they can sell them an RDP house should alert authorities or call the anti corruption line. You can call (011) 355 4324 during office hours or the anti corruption line on 0800 701 701,” said MEC Lekgoro.
For more information contact:
Mongezi Mnyani
Cell: 082 602 5358
Themba Sepotokele
Cell: 082 490 9869
Issued by: Department of Local Government and Housing, Gauteng Provincial Government
21 July 2009
