The Member of the Mayoral Committee for Human Settlements, Councillor Mlungisi Mabaso revealed that the City was investigating how several people including youth became beneficiaries of RDP houses in Fleurhof.
Mabaso who recently spoke at a young people’s construction summit in Brixton said since he came into office the City had been investigating all the recipients of RDP houses in Fleurhof.
Mabaso told the Record that some of those who received houses used fake documents [when they applied], while in other cases they got houses from scammers pretending to work for the City.
“We are not sure if City officials are involved; we are waiting for the investigators to give us an update, then we can take action. The City is also looking into other house invasions.”
According to Mabaso, the investigation was not to discredit the work the ANC had done before the City’s multiparty government took over after the local government elections late last year.
“The investigation is about housing allocation in Fleurhof that we were not aware of. This stems from people using the logo of the City and the Department of Housing.
“When we requested documents we discovered that a number of young people had received houses,” he said.
His department had learned about the matter from security guards at the properties, and it was not clear if those who had occupied the houses illegally had been working with City officials or criminal syndicates. Those who had moved into the Fleurhof project were to be vetted.
“They have sent me an email asking that the matter be investigated further. I don’t want to say City officials are involved if they are not,” said Mabaso.
Allocations at Fleurhof would be stopped temporarily while the City’s anti-corruption unit, the Group Forensic Investigation Services investigated the matter.
Mabaso said the City was engaging with young people in construction to ensure they could grow their businesses and interact with experts in the field.
On Tuesday, July 5 Mabaso announced that the Housing Department will now be referred to as the Human Settlements Department.
The change comes as the scope of work and mandate of the department have expanded.
“The department is no longer dealing with just the construction of houses, it’s looking comprehensively at human settlements.
“We are taking on new projects and programmes that are in line with the provincial and national government,” said Mabaso.
According to the department, the name change will increase the scope of work and mandate of the department as it also includes the construction of sites and services to enable households to build their own homes.
The name change was approved, with no objections, by the City of Joburg Council in June, and was effective from Friday, July 1.
