MMC says department wants houses ready for potential third wave

City of Johannesburg MMC for Housing Mlungisi Mabaso has provided an update on the current status of the Temporary Relocation Units (TRUs) project.

The initial announcement of the project was made in July last year during a sod-turning ceremony with City of Johannesburg Housing Department representatives and mayor Geoff Makhubo in attendance. The project has seen a number of delays and as of late January this year, the housing department confirmed that 185 foundations had been built and five show houses had been completed.

It was originally announced that there would be 1 200 houses constructed but this was later decreased to 1 100.
Mabaso said, “The delays were due to community consultations. We first had to appoint the Community Liaison Officer and then appoint the SMMEs. Besides that, we had to engage with the community so that they would understand why we were doing the project and who was going to benefit.
“It took longer that expected because we had challenges with Covid so it was not easy to put people at one venue, so we had to do it in phases.”

He said other delays were due to the City of Johannesburg hiring the Housing Development Agency (HDA) to handle the project and the various protocols that needed to be put in place.

Mabaso said the housing department and the mayor have had meetings with the agency to discuss the slow speed at which the project was moving and the little progress that had been made. “We raised the issues of poor performance by HDA but they also raised the issue that they haven’t received payment from the City of Johannesburg.”

Allegations of non-payment to SMMEs working on the project have also arisen. Mabaso said the issue of non-payment arose because the SMMEs were contracted to the main contractor on this project. He explained that usually the contractor would pay the SMMEs and reclaim the money from the agency who would in turn receive payment from the housing department.

Mabaso said this was not the case for this project and the slow payment to SMMEs was a result of the contractors waiting on the agency to pay them before they could pay the SMMEs.

Though the project has not been completed for the first and second waves of the Covid-19 pandemic, Mlungisi said the housing department had pushed the agency to have the project ready for the potential third wave.

Spokesperson for the agency Tshepo Nkosi said, “The HDA is equally concerned about the delays experienced on the Rabie Ridge project in the City of Joburg. To this end, we are continuing to engage with our clients and other stakeholders and an amicable solution is being sort to expedite the completion of this project.”

Nkosi added that an implementation protocol entered into between the City of Johannesburg and the agency allowed for the agency to the only invoice the City for value created.

“The municipality will pay the implementing agent for value created within 14 days from date of invoice. It must be noted, however, that delays have been experienced with the payment of invoices submitted and has resulted in work stoppages.”

He said the delayed payments have been the main issue that had currently halted the project. “The HDA is working closely with the City of Johannesburg in attending to all the administrative requirements that will ultimately enable the City to make the necessary payments to the HDA.”

Nkosi concluded, “The two entities are committed to resolving the issues and making the necessary payments.”

Nkosi said the agency wished to reiterate its commitment to finalising this project within the new time frame and assured the community of delivering on their mandate.

Mabaso concluded, “We would like to apologise for the delays. And we know that we are responding to a pandemic and this is not a normal development. People are patiently waiting and we request them to give us more time. We are going to deliver as promised… We will push HDA and contractors on site to make sure that they deliver, based on the revised scheduled time.”

Details: City of Johannesburg www.joburg.org.za

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