While the rightfull beneficiaries still await an official announcement by the City of Ekurhuleni (CoE) MMC for Human Settlements Lesiba Mpya, others claim they have been allowed to move into the houses.

This created confusion among residents who took to the premises on January 10 to demand the eviction of the unlawful dwellers and official announcement of the rightful beneficiaries. The gathering was marked by a heavy police presence to ensure safety of the community.

“Either the Human Settlements Department or the Gauteng Housing Department have seemingly and unofficially allowed certain people to move into a few of the houses, while the rightful beneficiaries have been excluded. I find this peculiar as none of the stakeholders in the project received invitation to an official handing over ceremony,” Labuschagne reacted to the news.

The housing project (announced as far back as November 2015) was said to be complete by the end of 2017, but the contractor packed up and left the site in 2019. As a result, complete and incomplete houses are left fully exposed to criminals and it did not take them long to start plundering the houses. Labuschagne said he submitted numerous questions to council regarding the project, but is yet to receive a response.

“I suspect that the CoE and the provincial human settlements departments have run out of funds and that the contractors abandoned the site as a result thereof.”

He added that during a public meeting held on 11 May 2019, MMC Mpya proudly announced that the MazKenzieville Housing Project will be complete and finalised within two months, but eight months down the line little to no progress has been made.

“Interestingly, two human settlements officials involved in this project were allegedly suspended towards the end of 2019 and a new project manager has subsequently been appointed. In my view, this spells out housing corruption,” Labuschagne concluded.