Tshwane housing in turmoil, FF Plus demands action
The council shows citing financial mismanagement, project failures, and systemic collapse. The ANC should be removed from Tshwane’s Human Settlements Department, according to FF Plus. Councillor Lenor Janse van Rensburg demands urgent audits, leadership changes, and accountability for millions in wasted funds.
The Freedom Front Plus has sounded the alarm over what it calls a full-blown crisis in the metro’s Department of Human Settlements.
The party has called for the immediate removal of the ANC from political oversight of the department.
Councillor Lenor Janse van Rensburg, who serves on the Section 79 Portfolio Committee for Human Settlements, said the ANC’s continued control of the portfolio has led to a full-blown governance crisis, with millions wasted and housing delivery in collapse.
The call comes in the wake of a damning oversight report revealing widespread financial mismanagement, stalled projects, and persistent violations of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
After nearly a year in office, she said the political leadership of the department has yielded no meaningful results.
She pointed out that instead, millions of rands have been spent on incomplete or abandoned projects, while essential housing and infrastructure delivery has come to a standstill.
According to Janse van Rensburg, the situation can no longer be explained away as administrative delays.
At the centre of the crisis is ANC MMC for Human Settlements Aaron Maluleka, whose leadership has failed to produce any meaningful results after nearly a year in office.
She issued a direct and urgent call for the immediate removal of Maluleka.
“The ANC has proven incapable of managing this portfolio,” she said. “We are not dealing with isolated failures. We are confronting a pattern of systemic collapse that is robbing residents of their dignity.”
The report reveals widespread financial mismanagement, stalled projects, and persistent violations of the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA).
She pointed out that in Refilwe Ext 10, over R80-million has been spent on water and sewer infrastructure, yet key deliverables remain incomplete. Refilwe Ext 10 is a residential area located in the township of Refilwe, east of Pretoria and situated near Cullinan.
According to her, in Rama City more than R285-million has been allocated across three phases, but only 30% of the work has been completed. Rama City is situated in the north-western part of Pretoria next to Ga-Rankuwa and the Rosslyn Industrial Area.
In Winterveldt, a budget discrepancy of over R390-million has raised serious red flags, with unclear funding sources and delayed procurement. Winterveldt is a large settlement located northwest of Pretoria.
Some of these failures can be attributed to contractor disputes, litigation, and the absence of any consequence management.
The mismanagement extends beyond the capital projects.
The metro’s rental housing stock is also in crisis, confirmed Van Rensburg.
In Stalshoogte, a municipal housing complex located in Arcadia, up to 80% of tenants are withholding rent, sub-letting is widespread, and the municipality has no updated tenant audit trail.
“We are losing revenue and control over these units due to the total absence of oversight,” said Janse van Rensburg. “The ANC has allowed lawlessness to become the status quo.”
The Housing Company Tshwane (HCT), which also falls under Maluleka’s oversight, has fared no better in her estimation.
The company received a qualified audit opinion from the Auditor-General.
She said repeated MFMA violations, poor internal controls, and little to no co-operation by former executives have crippled the entity.
The CFO post remains vacant, and the agency operates without a formal risk framework or scheduled management meetings.
“This level of mismanagement is not accidental,” she emphasised. “It reflects a culture of impunity enabled by weak political leadership.”
The financial toll is staggering.
Despite an urgent need for housing, the department underspent by hundreds of millions in the last financial year.
Van Rensburg said irregular expenditure is estimated to exceed R150-million, with further losses due to the city’s failure to charge interest on outstanding debt.
“The ANC has presided over a department that is misusing vast public resources while delivering nothing to the people of Tshwane,” she said. “Every rand lost is a house not built, a child without clean water, and a community left to fend for itself.”
She demanded the following immediate interventions:
– a full audit and reconciliation of all capital housing projects
– blacklisting of non-compliant contractors
– appointment of a qualified CFO for the housing company
– monthly consequence management reports to council
– deployment of security personnel to protect municipal rental units.
“We are not making political noise. We are demanding accountability,” she concluded. “Residents are tired of empty promises and failed projects. What they want is leadership that delivers, systems that work, and public money that is spent with integrity.”
She emphasised that should no corrective action be taken, the FF Plus will escalate the matter to provincial and national oversight bodies.
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