The Democratic Alliance (DA) is calling on Gauteng MEC for COGTA and Human Settlements, Lebogang Maile to institute an investigation into the failed Evaton Renewal Project (ERP).
The ERP was initiated in 2004 and was scheduled to be completed in 2014 at a budget of R100 275 304,57.
The project was meant to uplift and improve the lives of previously disadvantaged Evaton residents by developing roads, improving sanitation, delivering housing and creating an environment conducive for the local economy to grow.
However, there is nothing to show for all the money spent on this project thus far.
Evaton still remains one of Gauteng’s most neglected townships. There is no service delivery, residents are still using pit toilets, and the infrastructure is poor with gravel roads and potholes.
According to the Auditor General’s report findings, R708 474 966.00 had been spent on the Evaton Renewal Project by the end of 2014/15 financial year.
Yet the former MEC for COGTA and Human Settlements, Paul Mashatile stated that the cost of the Evaton Renewal Project (ERP) was R470 million.
While his successor MEC Uhuru Moiloa revealed that R206 842 207 has been spent on this project thus far.
These figures are contradictory to the report published by the Auditor General in 2016.
The Evaton residents have the right to know what happened to their money.
The DA will write to MEC Maile to request that an investigation be conducted to determine the exact amount of money spent to date on the ERP. Those who are found to be implicated in the misappropriation of funds and who benefitted illegally must face the full might of the law.