North West Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs MEC, Mmoloki Cwaile, has warned contractors that his department will not hesitate to take steps against those who build poor quality houses with sub-standard material.

“We state it unequivocally that we will not tolerate corruption under any circumstances. We will not tolerate shoddy work by our contractors,” Cwaile said.

Cwaile warned that his department will not hesitate to blacklist non-performing contractors on the Treasury’s database for non-performance, fraud and corruption, barring them from getting tenders from the department.

“You cannot continue as if it’s business as usual. Consequence management will apply to those departmental officials who condone these acts, they will also face the full might of the law,” Cwaile said.

Cwaile said this when he delivered the Human Settlements’ R1.8 billion budget to the provincial legislature in Mafikeng this week.

The MEC said over 280 000 houses have been constructed in the North West Province in the past 27 years of democracy.

For the financial year 2021/2022, the department has committed to focus on constructing 5 225 low cost houses, eradicating informal settlements, especially in mining areas, procuring land to build townships and issuing of title deeds to low cost houses beneficiaries.

He said the department will further strive to address the backlog on housing delivery across the province.

The MEC acknowledged that the province is continuously experiencing service delivery challenges, especially with the slow delivery of housing over the years, resulting in backlogs and blocked projects, widespread mushrooming of informal settlements, land invasions, and a gross shortage of affordable rental stock, especially in areas where economic opportunities are located.

He assured that all the challenges will be addressed, including disclaimers by the Auditor-General. 

Source: South African Government News Agency