The Gauteng Provincial Government’s (GPG) Rapid Land Release Programme (RLRP), launched in 2018 with the promise of empowering the poor through land ownership and development opportunities, has dramatically failed to meet its goals. Of the 2,200 stands allocated under the programme to residents in Palm Ridge Extension 14, only 13 have seen any form of building or development activity—a clear indicator that the programme is a monumental failure.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng discovered this during an oversight inspection at Palm Ridge, confirming that, despite former Premier David Makhura’s undertaking to provide 100,000 housing opportunities, which the current Premier Panyaza Lesufi-led government has sustained, very little has been achieved.
During our engagement with the residents, we identified a lack of planning and handing out of title deeds. Additionally, the allocation of stands lacked transparency, which is particularly concerning. Furthermore, there seems to be no forethought given to how beneficiaries will build and maintain their homes or cover service costs.
It is concerning that the Gauteng government has continued with this programme, despite it being plagued with challenges from the beginning, such as a lack of a reliable delivery plan, an impractical and unaffordable financing solution for beneficiaries, and insufficient institutional capacity for its effective implementation.
It is also unacceptable that the government proceeded with the programme despite knowing that most beneficiaries could not afford to build, secure loans, or pay for services. The scheme required that they self-build within tight deadlines. As a result, many stands have remained vacant and susceptible to invasion.
Furthermore, officials from the department have indicated that over R500 million has been spent on this programme.
The DA demands an urgent forensic investigation and referral of the entire programme to the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) to determine how the allocated funds have been spent. We will raise this issue during the Human Settlements portfolio committee in the Legislature and table written questions to MEC Tanseem Motara to ascertain the success of this programme using Palm Ridge as a case study. We will demand an audit of the programme since its initiation to ascertain whether the beneficiaries were able to build or if the land has been left vacant and vulnerable to illegal invasion.
A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would have thoroughly assessed spending plans and land acquisitions before implementing the Rapid Land Release Programme (RLRP), ensuring beneficiaries receive support to develop and sustain their properties.
We remain committed to holding the incompetent Lesufi’s government accountable for this programme failure despite millions of rands being spent.