The list is almost endless. But how does the government intend dealing with these abusive and exploitative practices?

For one, following the allegations made last year regarding foreigners receiving houses, Sisulu promised a tightening of the application of relevant regulations with, among other things, municipalities being forced to adhere to the national housing demand database to be monitored independently.

Sisulu also announced measures to check the practice of people selling off their RDP houses through occupancy audits to establish if the original beneficiaries of the houses still live in them. The services of the Special Investigations Unit were to be enlisted to take action against the practice.

In another measure aimed at reducing illegal and fraudulent practices, Sisulu announced that her department would be increasing its subsidised rental stock to ensure that those who do not qualify for state houses would have access to affordable rented accommodation.

In the 2006/07 annual report, the department also refers at length to its attempts, and that of the National Housing Anti-Corruption Forum (NHACF) and the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), to stamp out housing corruption. The Special Investigative Task Team (SITT), housed within the department, investigates allegations of maladministration, irregularities, fraud and corruption related to the implementation of national housing programmes.

To enhance a 'collaborative approach' and better co-ordination between the national department and the nine provincial departments, the department created the NHACF, which works closely with various law-enforcement agencies. However, the department acknowledges that its work is being hampered by capacity constraints.

What should government do to ensure that exploitation within its housing programme does not derail it completely? Leave a comment below...

Published courtesy of Ubuntu magazine

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