Nellmapius Ext 22 Community Petition: Update; with the Minister

Meeting report

Opening Remarks

The Chairperson said that the meeting was a follow up session to deal with a petition that had been in discussion since 4 June 2020, where oversight had been conducted on after the residents of Nellmapius Ext 22 had submitted a list of service delivery grievances against the City of Tshwane, which was under administration at the time. The Committee had then held discussions with the administration team, led by the Tshwane head administrator, Mr Mpho Nawa, who had informed the Committee that the community of Nellmapius had been visited earlier during the day, and had spoken to the community on the issues raised.

This meeting had been followed up by the Committee with an oversight visit to the city on 12 and 13 October last year, where the state of affairs in Ext 22 was observed. The Committee was not satisfied with what it had seen, especially with the inequitable distribution of services, as some sections had electricity and others did not. There were 700 houses in Ext 22 that were due for electrification, and the intervention from the city and the province had been insufficiently coordinated, and feedback to the community was poor.

During the oversight visit, commitments were made, including that there would be a contractor on site by February, but correspondence had been received from the residents of Ext 22 that nothing had been done since the Committee conducted its oversight. Commitments were made by the Metro, and the Regional Head of the Department of Human Settlements in Tshwane had said that the electrical reticulation contracts had expired on 28 February 2020, and had not been renewed. The Department was in the process of appointing a service provider to complete the work and finalisation was supposed to have been on 15 December 2020, and the contract handover had been due on 15 January 2021.

The Department had also been tasked by the Committee to investigate the allegations into illegal house sales and to submit a report on the matter. The Chairperson said that a month ago, there had been protests in Mamelodi because of the road barricades that were set up by the Nellmapius community demanding that their electricity issues be resolved. Many other surrounding communities were affected, because they could not access the cemetery to bury their loved ones. People were of the view that the government only listened when there were protests, which was not good.

The Chairperson said that the community of Nellmapius deserved to know the progress and status of the resolution of their issues, and said that there was no logic in building state-of-the-art houses without electricity. The process needed to be carefully facilitated by the Committee to ensure that the issues raised in the petition were resolved.

Gauteng DHS

Mr Lesiba Sekele, Regional Head: Tshwane Region, Gauteng Department of Human Settlements (DHS), said that the report that was supposed to be presented could not be signed off by the accounting officer because the invitation to the meeting had been at short notice. Once the report was signed off it would be shared with the Committee immediately. The report was very brief. The process of procuring the contractor could not be achieved, which was why the Department had taken a decision to hand over part of the work to the City of Tshwane, in accordance with the request that was initially made by the City in 2020. He said the Head of Department (HoD) had signed the letter of the handover on 20 April 2021, and said that the City may be able to clarify the plans that were in place concerning the issues that had been raised.

City of Tshwane

Cllr Phillip Nel, Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC): Utility Services and Regional Operations and Coordination, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, provided the background to the issue in Nellmapius. He said the area had 370 formalised stands, 1 330 reconstruction and development programme (RDP) houses/stands, and 550 social houses (flats). Regarding the electricity provision to the RDP and social houses, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements had implemented a township development and service provision programme, which also included electricity reticulation for RDP and social houses. The province had handed over the project over to the City after the electrification project had failed. The City had commenced with the electrical designs and consultations after the handover letter was received from the Department. The challenges included illegal connections, project sabotaging and illegally occupied houses.

Cllr Dikeledi Selowa, MMC: Roads and Transport, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, said that the project was a provincial government human settlements project, where there had been contractual disputes, and the disputes were based on the electrification. On 20 April, there had been engagements with Mr Jacob Mamabolo, Gauteng Member of the Executive Council (MEC): Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, after disruptions by taxi operators, and the City had been given permission to take over the electrification process. It was uncertain whether the City would be taken to court by the appointed contractor, because the City would be conducting the electrification. There had not been electricity for five years, and the ward councillor and community of Nellmapius had lost faith because it would be a city project.

On the illegal land occupation, she said that the illegal occupants have been removed, but new people settled in. Ms Mpho Mehlape-Zimu, MMC for Human Settlements, was engaging with the Department of Home Affairs on the matter, because social housing could not be given to non-citizens.

Discussion

The Chairperson said that the Committee’s concern was the people who had stayed in the 1 333 RDP houses for over six years, and who had raised complaints. Illegal occupants had to be removed by the City and the Department, and he was pleased to hear that the project would be implemented in phases. There were people living with disabilities in these houses, and they did not have electricity, which was concerning, especially since Sepoko Park, which was a neighbouring community, had electricity. It was unacceptable for some areas to have electricity, and others not. The City was commended for responding swiftly to the electricity challenges of the other surrounding areas. The focus should be on the 1 333 RDP house occupants who did not have electricity, but had water and roads.

Mr C Brink (DA) said that it was never clear where the housing function lies in a metropolitan city, but in this case the city seemed to be providing site and service, and the province constructed the units and did the allocations, and that the houses were occupied before electricity could be installed, which had led to the 1 333 houses having no electricity for over five years. It was good that the City had taken over the project of providing electricity, because inter-governmental cooperation had been enforced and because communities cared about services, not jurisdiction. He raised concern as to whether the City had the budget to carry out the project. Where was the money going to come from? Would the province provide a grant? If so, what were the details of the grant, and would the project fall under the existing capital projects of the City? The City must have the ability to achieve the goals.

Response

Mr Sekele said that municipalities were accredited with level 2 status, which meant that they could also implement human settlements projects. The Department had declared the project a mega project, meaning that the installation to the handover of the houses to beneficiaries would have been done by the Department. There were four contracts that had been concluded with the service provider that detailed the installation of internal water and the sewerage, and the construction of the houses which would have happened with the electrification. However, the sub-station had not been ready at the time when water was installed, and the houses were constructed and handed over. The sub-station was ready in 2019, which was why the electrification was delayed and behind schedule. He said the City could also implement its own projects from inception to the final stages, but because the project had been declared a mega project, everything was done by the Department.

Mr Stephens Notoane, Group Head: Utility Services, City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, said that the City received a grant for the upgrading of informal settlements called the Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP) grant, which was used for upgrading electricity in particular. The project had been delayed because of the issues that had been discussed, but there were plans and an allocation to implement the project in the next financial year as a priority, where the grant funding would be used.

The Chairperson raised concerns on the project, because there was an assumption that when a project was transferred to the City, the funding of the project would also be transferred. He asked why the municipality had not been utilised in the first place, because it was known to deliver services faster to the people, compared to the Department. The project had gone wrong because it was being implemented for over ten years, and there were now illegal occupants who had moved into the vacant houses.

The Department had to share the lessons learnt from this project, because when people were promised housing, the houses should be delivered and allocated within a period of time. Even though the Department had raised concerns that the houses were being vandalised, vulnerable people had been placed in those houses without electricity and with an increasing crime rate. The Department should compensate the City for the project, because the funds were supposed to have been transferred.

The Chairperson said that when people approached Parliament, it was usually because they had exhausted all other avenues of resolving the matter. The project had timelines which should be met, and the commitments that had been made must be honoured for the project to be completed in June 2021.

Ms Selowa said that in the engagement held with MEC Mamabolo, the MEC had said that there was a budget from the Department for the project because it had already been funded, and it would be transferred to the City for the electrification project.

Mr Sekele said that he had not been aware of the commitment that was made by the MEC. The remainder of the work that was not completed on the project was on the Department's budget for 2021/22, and that the budget was not meant to be transferred, especially since the City had not indicated that they would require funding. It had been assumed that the City had funding because of the UISP grant, and the comments that had been made by Mr Notoane to utilise the UISP grant.

The Chairperson said that Gauteng Human Settlements was under MEC Lebogang Maile, and MEC Mamabolo was the MMC for Infrastructure and Public Works. From the progress report submitted by Cllr Nel, there had been progress on the site handover and the project had been transferred to the City, but a function could not be transferred without a budget. The Department had made a commitment to the community to finalise the project, and although funding was said to have been received from the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG), there was money that had been allocated to the project from the Department. The Chairperson asked what would happen to this money if it was not used.  

Cllr Nel said that there had been an assurance that funding would be allocated, because a project could not be completed without the adequate funding. It was a shame that not all of the involved stakeholders were present in the meeting, because an important matter was being discussed. If money was taken from the UISP grant, then the City could not allocate money to implement other intended projects. The Chairperson could assist in resolving the funding matter.

The Chairperson said that the report that had been submitted stated that the project had been transferred to the City, and that commitments had been made for the completion of the project. The electrical layout plans had also been forwarded to the City. He asked for clarity on the matter, and wanted to know what had happened to the original budget for the project.

Mr Sekela said there had been no request from the City for funding, and that the City had been expected to avail financial and technical expertise towards the completion of the project. If the City did not have the financial resources, then the matter could be forwarded to the accounting officer for a distribution of funds, because the funds were available for electrification. He said that the City had a huge amount of funds from the grants which could be surrendered in the next month, and that the Department had not planned on transferring funds.

The Chairperson asked who had written the letter to the City.

Mr Sekele said that it had been the accounting officer.

The Chairperson said the logic should be that if a project with a budget was handed over, then the budget had to be handed over as well.

Mr Sekele said the letter stated that the City would make financial and technical expertise available, and the HoD had decided that the funds would not be transferred with the project. He said that a proposal could be forwarded for the funds to be transferred.

The Chairperson asked if there was a commitment from the Department to supply the community of Nellmapius with electricity.

Mr Sekele agreed.

The Chairperson said that the meeting with the Department was supposed to have been held in the previous year, and added that the letter to the City had not been received by the Committee.

Mr Sekele said that the City had acknowledged the letter and the transferral process had begun, which was why the funding challenges had not been noted. The matter would be discussed further with the City.

The Chairperson said that the discussions would not prevent the project from continuing, and  feedback was required so that the communities could be given an assurance that the issues would be resolved. If Parliament could not provide hope to the people, then nothing had been achieved. He asked if a service level agreement was signed, besides the letter that had been sent to the City, because the project was supposed to have been finalised seven years ago. The Committee’s concern was that the same issue was being discussed, with no progress.

Mr Sekele said that the Department was committed to seeing the project completed, and that the funding proposal would be presented to the accounting officer for consideration.

Ms Mmaseabata Mutlaneng, Acting City Manager: City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, said that the report of 30 April had outlined that the spending of the USDG was 48%, the UISP was 56%, and the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) was 4%. A decision could be taken for funding to be made available through the various grants so that the project was completed. If the City had to write letter to the Department to make the budget available, then that would be done. The City had implemented the project on the basis of inter-governmental relations, hoping that the project was for the province, but the province had to be met halfway. She said that the province had to assist the City, especially during the COVID pandemic, because things had not been easy for the City. The City was committed to completing the project.

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, said that she would communicate with the provincial Department for details and the status of what was happening, because it was a provincial project.

The Chairperson said that the Minister’s intervention would assist in addressing the issue, adding that even if the City was hoping to recover the money, it would not be possible because the community lived in RDP houses and were indigent. The service level agreement and the intervention of the Minister would be a great help. He said that the City had two weeks to produce a clear service level agreement so that the project was not disrupted.

Mr Brink agreed with the sentiments of the Chairperson, and said it was irresponsible for the City and the Province to say that everything was sorted out when it was not. A proper mechanism should have been followed to hand over the project, instead of a letter being written, as the details were crucial. In the previous meeting, it had been said that the original contract that was awarded by Gauteng was a turnkey to the Varanani projects, and that there were disputes which had been resolved by the Province by shifting the budget that was meant for electrification towards the resolution of the problem. A solid agreement was needed, with clarity from the MEC and the HoD. The Province should also provide details as to how the dispute with the Varanani projects would be resolved and how the money would be retrieved from the project.

The Minister said that the MEC of COGTA had indicated it was better for the City and the Province to work together to resolve the issue, because the MEC was under the impression that the City had funding and did not require any.

The Chairperson said that in two weeks a report was expected from the City of Tshwane. The issues were causing division in the communities. Services that were supposed to be provided had not been provided. The RDP houses' situation should be prioritised, because it was unfair on the people living in them. He asked for commitments from the City to resolve the issues.

The City of Tshwane accepted the commitments.

Mr K Ceza (EFF) said that the situation involving the RDP houses was very disheartening, because one could not understand what in the budget could have caused the delays in completing the project. The community was now subject to crime because there was no electricity. If there was no need, the budget could be directed to another municipality, but clearly there was a need and money had been allocated for infrastructure. This highlighted the incompetence of the City in delivering services that were needed by the communities. Disputes within the municipality disadvantaged the communities more than anyone, and municipal leaders needed to understand their role as leaders. Commitments must be made by the City on when the issues would be addressed, as well as the timeframes for addressing them.

The Chairperson said that the commitments should be honoured, and a way forward should be presented to the Committee in two weeks, as well as the project plan, so that the Committee could monitor the progress.

The Chairperson thanked everyone present for attending the meeting, and said that a progress report was still awaited from the City based on the oversight that had been conducted by the Committee, the audit outcomes, and the state of service delivery in the City. The signed off reports should be forwarded to the Committee by Monday 24 May by the Province, as promised by Mr Sekele.

The meeting was adjourned.