Limpopo fails to spend R500 million Human Settlements Development grant  

29 October 2014

The Limpopo Provincial government has once again failed to spend its allocated Human Settlements Development grant of R500 million for the 2013/14 financial year due to "capacity" constraints. This was relayed by the Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu, yesterday at the Human Settlements Portfolio Committee briefing on her 100 days in office. 

Last year, the Limpopo Provincial Department of Human Settlements returned R644 million to National Treasury, bringing their total returned funds to over R1 billion over two years. This department has recently emerged from financial administration and thus it seems the supposed turn-around strategy took a turn for the worst. 

Urgent action is needed to put plans in place for Limpopo to spend the grant it will receive next year. We cannot allow this province to underspend its grant year after year, even as the people in the province do not have access to the housing they need. 

According Section 2 (c)(d)(e) of the National Housing Act of 1997, Minister Sisulu, must take action to monitor the performance of provincial departments and budgetary goals set  against housing delivery and assist the department to develop administrative capacity to exercise their duties and manage their own financial affairs. 

Therefore, I will write to Minister Sisulu to request that she invoke this section of the legislation to demand a turn-around strategy from the department and to report back to the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements on the progress made. 

Should this fail, the DA will have no choice but to request that the department be placed back under Section 100 (a) administration by National Treasury. 

This money could have been spent on completing human settlements projects in Sekhukhune District Municipality and in the Lebogang Township. According to our calculations, more than 9000 homes could have been built. 

It is shocking that the department promised to build 12 500 houses by the end of the 2013/14 financial year and only managed to build 1500 houses of the set target. At the same time it has handed a billion back to treasury in unspent money.  

It is high time that Minister Sisulu takes control and resolves this issue in the provincial department once and for all. 

Statement issued by Makashule Gana MP, DA Shadow Minister for Human Settlements, October 29 2014

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