Department spends 95% of the budget on service delivery

‘Gauteng is going to be a construction site over the next 10 years’

The Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements and COGTA (Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs), Dikgang Uhuru Moiloa, has welcomed the improvement in the department’s spending of its budget. “In the current financial year, we have spent 95% of our budget. This is a record high in [the last] 20 years. I am also pleased to announce that the department is not surrendering even a cent to treasury this year,” he said. The department had returned a large amount of money to treasury in the previous financial year.

Moiloa said the department was working with municipalities to deliver even more houses by the end of the municipalities’ financial year.

“We are refocusing the infrastructure grant for bulk services, and provinces are now going to [go] direct and partner with municipalities to ensure integrated planning, with bulk infrastructure investment as a key driver for economic growth,” he said.

“We have refocused the administration towards improved service delivery. The department has improved on the payment of service providers. We are closing the net on accruals and payment disputes between our clients and the department,” he said.

He said that the human settlements department was reviewing policy, to open up the data base and allow more youth and women to play a role in construction. Thirty percent of the housing grant is top sliced for these designated groups.

“The 33 Mega Cities are coming of age, and Gauteng is going to be a national construction site from 2020/2021 and [over] the next 10 years. In addition, the department is dedicating resources towards refurbishing the flats in the coloured areas, with a view to transfer them to the families with title deeds,” said the MEC.

Moiloa has invested increased energy and resources on the development of communication and the concept of “deliverology”, to partner with stakeholders in the construction and built environment.

“R770-million is budgeted for the formalisation of informal settlements in the year beginning April 2019. We have also intervened in a number of projects that were facing delays due to various reasons. These projects include Mountain View, Southern Farms and Orlando West Women’s hostel,” he said.

In addition Moiloa noted that a meeting is being set up between the premier and minister of land affairs to resolve the land question in Alexandra, based on an MOU signed by the department, the City of Johannesburg and the land owners of Alexandra. The MOU has been dubbed as the “Mashatile MOU” by some of the stakeholders.

The MEC warned all those who plan to invade land or houses that the department would not hesitate to take legal action against them, and that the department was going to continue to evict those who are occupying houses or land illegally, where it has court orders.