Houses of horror - RDP housing corruption

Houses of horror - RDP housing projects corruption disappearance of millions intended for housing for the poor.

HIGH-RANKING Sundays River Municipality officials have been implicated in an extensive web of alleged corruption involving the disappearance of millions of rands intended for housing for the poor.



Allegations of gross mismanagement and fraud relating to four key RDP housing projects – for which more than R100-million was set aside in the once-thriving municipality – have been laid bare after a Herald investigation that was triggered by a government-initiated forensic audit in the newspaper’s possession.


So crippling has the alleged corruption been that the municipality’s accounts have been frozen.


The provincial administration has revoked its responsibility for any projects involving large sums of money, such as housing delivery, while it is placed under administration until it becomes functional again.


Government sources say arrests are imminent.


Tens of millions of rands have been paid to builders who were never authorised to become contractors on the RDP developments and who failed to complete the projects, while key officials have been accused of entering into “corrupt relationships” with councillors and their relatives by awarding them lucrative RDP home building contracts.


Top officials and councillors have also been accused of contravening the Municipal Finance Management Act by allegedly profiting from municipal building tenders – which they are accused of influencing for their own benefit – by awarding them to their families or companies they have shares in.


They, in turn, upped and left after completing only half the work.


Authorities are also trying to recoup up to R8-million which “vanished” from municipal coffers. The Herald has learnt the money was paid to contractors – who were never given the official municipal approval to work on the various developments – from a municipal account accessed by someone using the password of a former chief financial officer.


The projects at the centre of the cash scandal include those in Enon and Bersheba and Moses Mabhida in Kirkwood to which the Housing Department respectively granted R26.5-million to build 450 homes, and R45.7- million for 750 houses.


In Addo, a project in Nomathamsanqa township was granted R18-million for 300 RDP houses, while a stone’s throw away in Noluthando, R28-million was released for the building of 801 homes.


The projects, began between 2006 and mid-2008, should have been completed by now, but have ground to a halt. The Herald found hundreds of half-built homes throughout all four projects.


The figures are contained in a continuing forensic audit by the Housing Department, a report on which is in The Herald’s possession.


An inspection by the newspaper of the four housing projects revealed none were complete, with several hundred homes either half-built or mere shells with no piping or internal finishes such as ceilings. In many cases, houses lucky enough to have roofs did not have water or electricity or connection to sewerage pipes, effectively forcing the occupants to be reliant on a bucket system.


At least four councillors, two top municipal officials and several private contractors – some of whom are family of the councillors – are being probed in forensic investigations by the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), known as the Cobras, as well as the Housing and provincial Local Government and Traditional Affairs departments.


The Herald has learnt that the East London-based SIU – which two weeks ago seized and copied the hard drives of the municipality’s computers as part of its probe – has passed on its findings to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks.


Hawks spokesman Musa Zondi confirmed yesterday that the police unit was looking into three investigations regarding the municipality.


Former acting municipal manager Lungiswa Roji has also been suspended and is understood this week to be facing a disciplinary hearing for allegedly turning a blind eye to major irregularities by councillors and officials implicated in the scandal.


In March, Local Government MEC Sicelo Gqobana placed the Sundays River Municipality under administration and sent in Vuyo Zitumani as acting municipal manager to solve all the problems which had crippled delivery in the area.


Zitumani acted in a similar capacity in 2007 when she was made acting municipal manager of Mthatha for nine months.


Sources close to the businesswoman said she was shocked at the level of corruption within the municipality when she arrived four months ago.


“When it comes to officials (found to be corrupt), we will be hard on them,” said Zitumani, who yesterday refused to disclose the names of those implicated in the various probes.


“There are serious allegations which the SIU has reported to the MEC,” she said.


“We want to wrap up the investigations as soon as possible. The communities want to see action and are very eager to see an outcome.”


Zitumani said the area’s housing development status – allowing the municipality to oversee developments – had been revoked and was now in the hands of the provincial department.


She has also cancelled five housing tenders which were awarded irregularly.

Keywords - RDP, housing, housing for the poor, housing tenders, Municipality officials, corruption, millions, corrupt, builders, contractors, RDP developments, Top officials, councillors, human settlements, Housing Department, Local Government, MEC Sicelo Gqobana