AN insufficient budget has caused a delay in the completion of RDP houses in Soweto.
While there are still citizens who have been waiting for their RDP houses for more than 20 years, 833 units in Lufhereng extension 5 and 11 have been started but not completed.
Sadly, some have already been vandalised, with their doors stolen and windows broken.
Speaking to Daily Sun, community leader Sunboy Mukhabela and the former deputy chairman of the project steering committee said that the incomplete RDP structures had been attracting crime in Lufhereng.
“The department has also lost so much because the houses in extenison 11 have been vandalised, doors have been stolen, windows stolen while some were smashed. This is a drawback because Lufhereng is the only land available in Soweto to build RDP houses,” said Mukhabela.
The deputy director for communications in Human Settlements Department, Neo Goga, confirmed that the RDP houses in Lufhereng were not ready for occupation. He said in Lufhereng extension 11, 805 RDP units still needed to be completed.
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“These units were intended as a Temporary Relocation Area (TRA) solution during the Covid-19 pandemic and were to be funded by the Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG).
"This was not done due to a lack of basic infrastructure (sewer, water and electricity). The city together with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements has instructed the developer to immediately commence completing the infrastructure, which should be completed by the end of July 2024. A funding agreement is currently being concluded between the province and the city to allow for the units to be concluded as soon as all infrastructure has been done,” said Goba.
He said that in Lufhereng extension 5, 233 RDP units still needed to be completed.
“The city together with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements have instructed the developer to immediately commence completing the units, which should be completed by the end of March 2024,” said Goba.
He said that for two financial years, there was an insufficient budget to continue the work on site, however, a sufficient budget to conclude the remaining units in extension 5 was available.
