The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements in the North West provincial legislature has summoned the Housing Corporation to explain its announcement that it plans to auction government properties.
These are properties inherited from the former Bophuthatswana government.
They are in the Mangaung Metro in the Free State, the John Taolo Gaetsewe Municipality in the Northern Cape and Tshwane in Gauteng.
The North West Housing Corporation (NWHC) announced last week, that about 1800 properties, including vacant land, farms, and business properties, will go under the hammer.
These are non-core and non-strategic immovable assets.
The NWHC said at the time, that this is aimed at reducing operating costs and raising capital to fund essential service delivery initiatives.
However, the Department of Human Settlements in North West has announced that this process has been halted to allow for public participation.
Meanwhile, on Monday, the N18 road linking Mahikeng and Vryburg and some local roads in Mahikeng were blockaded with stones and burning tyres by some residents of Mahikeng.
The residents were protesting against lack of service delivery, unemployment, poverty, the neglect of tourism attractions in Mahikeng, and the selling of properties built during the Bophuthatswana governance which include residential and commercial properties.
They said the selling of Bop properties was stripping the province of the Bophuthatswana government legacy, instead of uplifting the economy of the province.
The video below is reporting that local roads in Mahikeng were blockaded on Monday:
