Report reveals stalled housing projects in KwaZulu-Natal

A 62-page summarised report by the Department of Human Settlements (DHS) in KwaZulu-Natal depicted the dire straits of housing projects in the province. 

The report on blocked and stalled projects was presented to the KZN Legislature's Human Settlements Portfolio Committee recently. It highlighted the nature of the challenges, proposed interventions, and progress to date on the implementation of the development interventions.

There are several blocked projects in the report, with the most being eight in the Ilembe District Municipality. 

• Charlestown Housing, a R62 million project with a contract date from December 20, 2019, to April 30, 2025; sites approved 1,200, with houses delivered 295. The project is blocked due to the lack of a bulk water supply. Initially, the project area was connected to Pixley ka Seme Municipality (Mpumalanga Province) for bulk water supply, which was later cut off due to high demand. The Newcastle Municipality is currently acquiring funds for the provision of bulk water supply.

• The Mbazwana Rectification 426 unit housing scheme has not broken soil as yet. The department cannot proceed with the Supply Chain Management processes to appoint a service provider before beneficiary verification has been concluded.

• Cedera Housing project, worth R44 million, started in July 2016 with a contract end date of March 2018. However, only 100 units were built out of 623. The targeted beneficiaries are residents at Khanye Village, which is the staff accommodation for the workers of Cedara College. However, over the years, these families have grown, and some workers have retired but remained in the village. The project was stalled because of insufficient bulk services and the school site encroaching. The Umgungundlovu District has no funds to complete the bulk services. 
• No funding in the Umgungundlovu Municipality for bulk services led to the stalling of 500 homes for the Kheyalisha Housing Project from December 2007. 

• The Chief Albert Luthuli Housing Project, a R43 million project for 1,000 homes, was contracted between February 2005 to October 2010. Only 394 houses were built. The implementing agent abandoned the project due to financial challenges and left units incomplete. There was also poor workmanship and non-performance noted before the municipality terminated the service provider. The department has repackaged the project as a rectification and rehabilitation project to address the assessment's findings. 
• Umzinto Slum Clearance Housing Project worth R269 million contracted from April 1, 2012, to December 2017. Of the 1,925 sites, only 500 units were built. The project was identified by uMdoni Municipality to clear six informal settlements, but due to the non-availability of bulk sanitation infrastructure, it was stalled.

Riona Gokool, MPL and DA KZN spokesperson on Human Settlements, said the 4th Quarter performance reports have revealed a litany of issues.

Gokool stated that the DHS failed to resolve dozens of blocked projects, many of which have been stagnant for more than a decade.

“These projects represent billions of rand in public funds and affect thousands of intended beneficiaries, yet the department has provided no clear roadmap for completion. There should be a comprehensive action plan for all blocked projects, with district-specific timeframes. A moratorium should be placed on new projects until current backlogs are resolved,” Gokool said.

Two weeks ago, during a discussion over his 400 days in office as the MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma expressed his commitment to tackling delays in housing construction.

He stated that his department had reduced blocked housing projects from 68 to 15.

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