Who is responsible for abandoned housing project in Vosloorus? [VIDEO]
· Citizen
It remains unclear who should be held responsible for failing to complete the construction of more than 100 Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) housing units in Vosloorus, Ekurhuleni.
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About nine years ago, the Alternative Building Technology (ABT) housing project aimed at constructing 132 RDP housing units in Extension 9, Vosloorus, was launched.
To date, the construction has not been completed, and the structure has been vandalised.
After the DA exposed the issue, The Citizen sent questions to Zweli Dlamini, the City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson, who said the project belonged to the provincial department of human settlements.
“This is a provincial project, and they are best placed to clarify the matter,” said Dlamini.
When contacted for comment, Gauteng Department of Human Settlements spokesperson Tahir Sema also denied that his department was responsible for the project.
“The Vosloorus Extension 9 project is a municipal housing development administered by the City of Ekurhuleni. We would therefore advise that you direct your questions to them as the implementing authority for this project.”
Questions about the project went unanswered because the officials were unsure who was responsible.
Mervyn Cirota, DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for human settlements, said that when he visited the project, he found it remained unfinished, despite an estimated R56 million having already been spent since 2018.
“A walkabout through the site felt more like moving through an abandoned forest than a housing project, as overgrown grass and dense vegetation swallowed the structures that Vosloorus residents once hoped to call home. Years of government failure, neglect, and mismanagement have turned what should have been a place of dignity into a symbol of broken promises.”
Cirota accused human settlements MEC Tasneem Motara and Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi of often distancing themselves and shifting the blame onto municipalities for the collapse of housing projects, instead of intervening.
He said the DA would table questions to Motara, to establish how much has been spent on the project and: “What further funding is required, and the reasons for the delays in its completion. The same questions will also be tabled in the City of Ekurhuleni.”
The Gauteng government issued a statement accusing the DA of misleading the public about the project’s failure.
“We note with serious concern the DA’s misleading statements regarding the unfinished Alternative Building Technology housing project in Vosloorus Extension 9.”
“The DA appears intent on exploiting a genuine housing challenge for narrow political gain through misinformation, selective facts, and blatant distortion of the truth. Housing delivery is a matter that affects the dignity and livelihoods of our people and should never be reduced to political opportunism.”
The statement confirmed that the project belonged to the City of Ekurhuleni, but when contacted, the city shifted the blame to the provincial government.