The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements says it is putting systems in place to address years of bad performance and rampant corruption. MEC Lebogang Maile says shocking under-performance and systemic challenges have crippled service delivery in his department.
He says the housing backlog in Gauteng stands at over a million units. The department has also acknowledged that it owes contractors and suppliers more than R956 million.
Maile admits to under- performance by the department:
Maile says they have put systems in place to verify the debt and have fired officials for not doing their jobs.
“In particular the matter of the former acting CFO, charges have been brought against him. We took a decision to dismiss former DDG (Deputy Director-General) of corporate services as part of consequence management for persistent governance failures which went unchecked under his watch. Action was taken against the former director facilities and security management.”
Maile also says that the department has already fired people who don’t deserve to be in public service and will continue to fire more if need be.
The MEC says the province has moving targets when it comes to housing provision.
Maile says, “Gauteng has built 1.2 million RDP houses since 1994. When we check now, close to a million people still need houses. Close to 300 000 people seek houses every year.”
