Gauteng residents are growing increasingly frustrated as the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS) continues to fail to provide essential housing solutions despite countless promises.
A review of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (GDHS) projects for the West Rand and Ekurhuleni in the 2023/24 financial year exposes a record of failures and delays across the two regions.
This mismanagement has led to a housing crisis for millions of hopeful beneficiaries whose dreams of ever owning a home have been shattered.
Project after project, GDHS has displayed a lack of capacity and expertise to deliver even the basic aspects of its mandate. In the Western Mega Project in Randfontein, initial plans to deliver 9,875 units have been undermined by rampant invasion and theft of materials by illegal miners. This glaring lack of security has rendered nearly 300 units unusable, yet GDHS’s response to the criminality is to build a wall.
The Bekkersdal Urban Renewal Project heralded as a model of sustainable development, houses 60% of the people from Westonaria and remains largely unfinished. Instead of seeing progress, residents suffer from inadequate infrastructure, overcrowded conditions, and prolonged project delays. Despite allocating millions for upgrades, only 40% of earthworks are complete. The department’s inability to pay contractors on time has led to further work stoppages, jeopardising the few gains made.
The Dr Sefularo project in Mogale City and the Dr Montlana project in Muldersdrift have been beset by delays. Work that has been completed has been redone because of poor quality workmanship by contractors. In the case of Dr Motlana, Eskom is reluctant to connect electricity because of illegal connections and vandalism. Contractors report that funds transferred by GDHS are sporadic and often delayed, leading to stalled progress and costly remediation.
One of the largest undertakings, the John Dube Mega Project in Duduza, is a testament to the GDHS’s poor project management. Despite a massive R50 billion budget, only a fraction of the promised units have been delivered. Without the municipality’s completion of bulk infrastructure, progress on later phases remains entirely stalled, escalating the risk of illegal occupation.
Helderwyk Extension 8 Mega Project may face delays after phase 1 due to the municipality’s budget constraints for infrastructure installation. The project is currently on hold pending the municipality’s approval for water use licensing.
Collectively, these projects and their progress do not depict a Human Settlements Department with solutions to the housing challenges in Gauteng. Nor do they inspire confidence that the department will ultimately get it right. Rather, they indicate that the GDHS lacks solutions and will likely move from one failure to another.
A DA Gauteng provincial government has solutions to deliver adequate housing. We would hire competent, accountable leadership and officials with the necessary skills and expertise who will make housing delivery a reality. Furthermore, the DA would incentivise the private sector to contribute skills and finance to public housing projects.
In the interim, the DA will continue to hold the Gauteng Human Settlements Department to account for their poor housing delivery.