The Department of Human Settlements and Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, have responded to questions posed by Princess informal settlement residents regarding the R1b that was allocated in 2015 for housing projects in the area.

This comes after a few residents marched to the Premier’s office on November 4, to ask Lesufi to intervene on unfulfilled promises and lack of response to the memorandum that they handed over this year.

According to a 2015 Roodepoort Record article, the then Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements launched the Princess Plots Housing Project, which was supposed to be implemented in six phases.

• Also read: Princess informal settlement residents march to Premier’s office for answers

However, the community claims that while phase one was successfully built and completed, the remaining five have stalled and are still in question, considering the budget that was allocated.

The residents also alleged that in phase one, there was an incorrect and illegal allocation, with some units being sold and rightful owners left stranded.

Spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said Lesufi’s private office has no record of the said memorandum. He also said they do not manage budgets or implement projects.

Penwell Dhlamini from the Department of Human Settlements said the first phase of the project (281 walk-up units) was implemented by the department. He didn’t answer questions related to what exactly happened to the R1b that was planned for the six phases of the project.

• Read the initial article here: Princess: R1 billion to be spent on housing

“Our Development Planning Unit is currently in the process of planning the second phase of the project [268 walk-up units], which is unfortunately stalled by the non-issuing of the Power of Attorney and the outstanding township approval by the City of Johannesburg.

“The Joint Allocation Committee allocated the correct, verified and approved 281 beneficiaries. In total, 933 beneficiaries were approved for the project, as it was planned to yield 1 000 units in different phases. There is no reported illegal occupation of houses as the correct beneficiaries were allocated,” he said.

He concluded by saying that the department is aware of the presence of foreign nationals in the area and is working to address the complex issues surrounding land ownership, which involves both the City and private owners. He acknowledged instances of shack farming, but emphasised that no land has been transferred to ‘illegal immigrants’ by the City.

He reiterated the City’s commitment to engaging with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements and affected communities, including the Princess community, to find solutions to the issues raised, and that various City departments are working together to address these concerns and find possible solutions.