By REGINALD KANYANE
16 October 2024- The North West Department of Human Settlement said it will address the current housing backlog they are currently faced with. This includes ensuring that all blocked projects are unblocked, contractors are back on site, and contractors who abandoned sites are reinstated or new contractors are appointed.
The acting Head of Department (HOD), Dr Ben Bole said the department was responding to questions from the Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs during their oversight visit to housing projects in the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District Municipality recently.
Bole said the committee visited projects in Maquassi Hills, Ventersdorp, Kanana and other areas to assess progress made on blocked and other departmental projects.
“During the visit, the committee noted some dissatisfaction with the progress made on the construction of houses and called on the department to fast track the process of delivering houses in the province.
“The committee further urged the department to implement consequence management on officials and contractors, who continue to abandon projects and not do their work as expected,” he said.
Bole further said the committee expressed mixed feelings on several projects, however acknowledging progress made in unblocking blocked projects and completing other projects. He added that the committee also expressed satisfaction on the level of delivery, quality and processes followed by the department in prioritising elderly, women, people with disability, child headed households and other vulnerable groups.
“In some of the projects, the committee was informed that contractors had abandoned the site mainly because of administrative challenges facing the department such as the serious budget cuts, the hike in material prices and the old housing quantum,” said Bole.
Meanwhile, the acting Chairperson of North West Portfolio Committee on Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Chris Jokubus Steyl, called on the department to ensure that it follows proper processes in liaising with the national department and provincial treasury to request extra funds to resuscitate blocked projects and appointing contractors in most of those that have been abandoned.
According to Steyl, the department must work around the clock in making sure that beneficiaries receive houses and that contractors are paid on time in 30 days as directed by the provincial treasury. “It is critically important that we ensure that the department delivers houses. We are also responsible to make sure that we conduct oversight, to ensure that government funds are spent appropriately and that the department is delivering as according to its mandate. We therefore need reports from the department, about its plans in addressing the serious challenges the department is faced with,” said Steyl.
The Guardian 