R64m Mamelodi ‘temporary units’ not part of corruption – HDA

The Housing Development Agency (HDA) was responding to Apson Makaung, who claims to be a resident of the area, slamming the project for building what he described as “shacks” instead of better quality houses, Pretoria Rekord reports.

In response to the allegation, HDA acting manager of communication and marketing Katlego Moselakgomo said it was unfortunate that some people seemed to lack understanding of the real reason behind the structures.

“Because of the spate of corruption instances in a whole lot of areas, now it seems like everything that is happening, is corruption, yet it is not,” Moselakgomo said.

He explained that the Mamelodi temporary housing development was not meant to replace the RDP houses.

Instead, he said it was a direct response to a situation that had posed immediate threats to the lives, health and safety of Mamelodi hostel dwellers.

“I have been at Mamelodi hostels and I’ve seen how 16 people live in one dormitory. The living conditions there are terrible.”

According to the HDA, the information at their disposal suggested that most beneficiaries – if not all – are happy and appreciate the temporary housing units.

But “some people who are not even beneficiaries have ulterior motives and have problems with the development”, said Moselakgomo.

“The people who have big houses and a lot of data are the ones who are actually complaining. For them, something you build with corrugated iron is a shack but to the beneficiaries, it is an improvement.”

He explained that the temporary residential units’ structures development were not imposed on the beneficiaries, but that they were consulted with first before the project began.

“The beneficiaries are happy because we engaged with them and showed them what was available on the market before they themselves chose the type of temporary units we should build for them.”

Human settlements, water and sanitation minister Lindiwe Sisulu announced earlier that building such structures was faster than building a normal house.

“For this reason, the government decided to build the temporary residents’ unit structures during the Covid-19 pandemic. They are fast to build, so you can have a place to live in quicker,” Sisulu said during her visit to inspect the structures at Mamelodi hostels in May.

She later instituted a probe into various TRU structures development following complaints from some members of the public that the structures, which were built as a “quick” response to curb Covid-19 pandemic, were poorly constructed.

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