The visits are in line with parliament’s constitutional mandate to exercise oversight over the executive, particularly in sectors critical to service delivery. The purpose of the visits is to assess the delivery of quality housing and the implementation of human settlements programmes, said committee communications officer Malatswa Molepo. 

In North West, the committee’s oversight will include engagements with officials from the national and provincial departments of human settlements, as well as with local municipalities. The site visits and meetings will largely focus on Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati, Dr Ngaka Modiri Molema, and the Bojanala district municipalities, where housing challenges have been persistent, he added.

Maladministration and mismanagement

“The committee will focus on evaluating progress in the implementation of strategic plans and projects, as well as assessing service delivery on the ground through site visits.”

During his state of the province address on 27 February, Premier Lazarus Mokgosi said housing projects in Mahikeng had suffered further delays due to maladministration and mismanagement. 

Among the most high-profile of these is the Marang Estate project in Unit 3, originally envisioned as a 2,400-unit social housing development overseen by the social housing regulatory authority. The project was meant to alleviate the housing shortage in the province but has since stalled, said Mokgosi.

Meanwhile, in Gauteng, the committee will shift focus to public engagement, meeting with petitioners who have raised concerns about housing-related matters in the province. These meetings aim to gauge whether responses and commitments made by provincial departments and municipalities have materialised.

“The committee has been actively engaged with the department of human settlements to seek resolutions to the upgrading of Slovo Park informal settlement and the Mawiga  (Mabopane, Winterveld, and Ga-Rankuwa) petition,” Molepo said and emphasised the visits are a critical component of parliament’s responsibility to ensure that government resources are being effectively utilised and that citizens benefit from high-quality human settlements.

“The committee regards the visits to the two provinces as worthwhile and a critical component of its responsibility to ensure that public resources are used effectively and that human settlements delivered are of high quality.”

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OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi mvh