HCT says it is perfectly stable
The Housing Company Tshwane has dismissed allegations that it was in financial crises and should be dissolved, saying it was in stable financial waters.
Andrew Ngozo
The Housing Company Tshwane (HCT) has refuted allegations that it was in financial crisis and should therefore be dissolved. Last week the DA said HCT was neither able to maintain its complexes nor collect outstanding rent.
Anthony Ngcezula, CEO of HCT said there was no basis for these claims. “HCT is not in a crisis; financial or otherwise. It is liquid and will be able to pay all its expenses for the remainder of the 2015/16 financial year,” he said
HCT said it did not have three housing complexes as earlier alleged by the DA. “There are two complexes Eloff and Clarina. The rental collection at the Eloff property is up to date with some of the tenants having paid well in advance.
The rental collection rate is 109.7%, well over the 95% required by the social housing regulatory authority. It is a different story in Clarina where the bulk of residents were moved from Schubart Park. The Constitutional Court ruling compels us to collect levies only. Thus they are not required to pay any rent,” said Ngcezula.
He added that both complexes were “well managed with good security and cleaning services as well as long-term maintenance plans which are strictly adhered to.”
The levy collection rate at Clarina, said Ngcezula, stood at 43.6% but rigorous tenant training and communication was underway to illustrate the importance of paying levies.
DA councillor Simon Motsaneng said a report tabled before the mayoral committee reported that only “R9.9 million was spent against the budgeted R13.9 million resulting in a R3.8 million decrease”.
“However, any novice will tell you that the difference between the two is a whole R4 million. This leaves R200 000 unaccounted for.”
But Ngcezula said: “There was a typing error of the budget amount and the correct amount should be R13.7 million as per page 26 of the report. The reason for the variance of R3.8 million is due to the delay in the appointment of service providers for the Townlands and Timberlands projects. However, service providers were appointed during the second quarter and have since commenced with the pre-construction phase.”
Although HCT had been in existence since 2001, it had not been able to deliver any social housing project because it had not been accredited by the social housing regulatory authority.
“Our accreditation only came in 2014 which gave us access to national and provincial funding. That is why we have started pre-construction work on Townlands (767 housing units) and Timberland which will have 320 units. Both projects are progressing rapidly with the sod-turning event to take place on 16 February this year,” said Ngcezula.
Winston Campbell, HCT CEO said the DA were mere detractors who had no inkling of the real operations of HCT.
“The HCT is a stable and independent entity of the Tshwane metro. It recently appointed a highly capable and qualified CEO and COO. Both are vastly experienced in social housing and public administration,” said Campbell.
He said HCT was well on its way to operating at full capacity and pursuing the fulfillment of its statutory mandate to provide social housing to people who qualify.
“The metro has realised our capabilities and bolstered capacity and confidence in HCT’s management by transferring several housing units to the HCT,” Campbell said.
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