Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Jacob Mamabolo, has warned that action will be taken against contractors who fail on their contractual obligations.
“Once we get the facts about why the project was abandoned, we will get the contractor and the employees who were involved in the project and investigate what led to the situation. Where we find negligence and a basis for people to be held accountable, we will not hesitate to take action,” said MEC Mamabolo.
Speaking at the launch of the provincial ward-based housing audit in Alexandra, on Monday, MEC Mamabolo said the problem of incomplete buildings and houses, which was brought to his attention by ward councillors and concerned residents throughout the province, affected RDP houses, hostels and flats.
He said the housing verification audit on all incomplete housing projects in the province will give government a clear idea of who should be held accountable and help government establish the extent of the problem.
According to MEC Mamabolo, reasons for the abandonment of projects included the capacity of the department to pay contractors timeously.
“Currently there is no comprehensive detailed information of abandoned buildings in the province, there is no reliable data of where the abandoned buildings are, what their conditions are and so on.
The audit will also give details of how much was spent on each abandoned project, how much still needs to be spent and how long will it take to complete.”
He also emphasised that it was important to close the chapter of abandoned buildings and move over to Mega Human Settlements projects.
The MEC’s visit ended with a handover of one uncompleted site of Alexandra Ext 31 to an appointed contractor to complete the project.
