Minister Madikizela Fights Corruption - Middelpos, Saldanha Bay | Western Cape Government

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Minister Madikizela Fights Corruption - Middelpos, Saldanha Bay

26 May 2011

The Minister of Human Settlements, Bonginkosi Madikizela, has suspended payments to the Middelpos housing project in the Saldanha Bay municipality until problems with housing allocations have been rectified.

There have been allegations of corruption against the outgoing Saldanha Bay municipality, relating to the allocation of up to 1 350 sites to housing beneficiaries.

The Middelpos area has two housing development sites - one with 550 sites and another with 800 sites. Some of the residents have been living on the sites for up to 15 years. There had been little progress in the delivery of services and houses until a People's Housing Project (PHP) was started. PHP is an initiative to engage the community members in the planning and design of the houses and, where possible, to provide jobs and training to community members in rolling out the project. The PHP project has been approved by the Department of Human Settlements, and six showhouses have been completed. The project has been put on hold until the site allocation is sorted out.

Allegedly, sites were allocated by the council without the consultation and agreement of the community members. Minister Bonginkosi Madikizela said, "We need to consult with the Middelpos community to make sure we are in agreement with them about the beneficiary selection process and who will get the houses. This will be done through a series of community meetings. Once agreement has been reached, then work will resume."

"The Department of Human Settlements is looking forward to the incoming Saldanha council, as there will be shared vision between regional and local government. We are hoping to unblock a number of blocked cases caused by previous lack of co-operation. We welcome this as a realignment in shared vision to go forward with housing and services delivery," said Minister Madikizela.

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