CAPE TOWN — Housing department officials failed to provide satisfactory answers to Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) yesterday about irregularities involving more than R300m in housing subsidies.
Senior department officials were called to account by Scopa on findings by auditor-general Shauket Fakie about lack of proper control in the country’s housing subsidy system. He found subsidies had been allocated irregularly to people who were dead, already beneficiaries, or who did not qualify.
His audit found that as at March 2004, 53426 subsidies worth R323m were granted irregularly. Among the irregular beneficiaries were more than 7000 government employees earning more than the maximum qualifying income and 6708 applicants under 21.
Heads of six provincial housing departments, the provincial accounts committee chairmen and members of the parliamentary housing portfolio committee also attended the hearing, which heard about problems such as missing subsidy application files, system failures and capacity problems.
Few of the issues raised by Fakie in his report, published in January, had been addressed, the committee heard.
A joint steering committee set up by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu in November last year to deal with the issues had met only once, and would complete its work only by December, the committee heard. Housing portfolio committee chairwoman Zoe Kota said this was late, and stressed the need for government to get “value for money” from its expenditure.
One of the constraints on a full inquiry into subsidies is that housing department director-general Itumeleng Kotsoane has been in the job for only about six weeks. The committee said it was not satisfied with the general explanations given by the deputy director-general for strategic support, Mziwonke Dlabantu.
He said monitoring systems and capacity had been strengthened and additional government database searches would come into effect later in the year.
Of grave concern to Scopa members was the ability of provincial housing officials to override a rejection of an application by the national housing department after a check against the home affairs identification register and the deeds register.
African National Congress MP Vincent Smith said the officials “will feel the pain” of these kind of unacceptable explanations when Scopa formulated a resolution for adoption by the National Assembly on Fakie’s report.
He also stressed the urgency for the department to beef up its financial management and internal audit functions.
Scopa chairman Themba Godi said that the committee was not “100% satisfied” with the answers given.
Other members questioned the seriousness and commitment of the department to deal with the problems.
Godi criticised the department for not acting swiftly against corrupt officials.
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Senior department officials were called to account by Scopa on findings by auditor-general Shauket Fakie about lack of proper control in the country’s housing subsidy system. He found subsidies had been allocated irregularly to people who were dead, already beneficiaries, or who did not qualify.
His audit found that as at March 2004, 53426 subsidies worth R323m were granted irregularly. Among the irregular beneficiaries were more than 7000 government employees earning more than the maximum qualifying income and 6708 applicants under 21.
Heads of six provincial housing departments, the provincial accounts committee chairmen and members of the parliamentary housing portfolio committee also attended the hearing, which heard about problems such as missing subsidy application files, system failures and capacity problems.
Few of the issues raised by Fakie in his report, published in January, had been addressed, the committee heard.
A joint steering committee set up by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu in November last year to deal with the issues had met only once, and would complete its work only by December, the committee heard. Housing portfolio committee chairwoman Zoe Kota said this was late, and stressed the need for government to get “value for money” from its expenditure.
One of the constraints on a full inquiry into subsidies is that housing department director-general Itumeleng Kotsoane has been in the job for only about six weeks. The committee said it was not satisfied with the general explanations given by the deputy director-general for strategic support, Mziwonke Dlabantu.
He said monitoring systems and capacity had been strengthened and additional government database searches would come into effect later in the year.
Of grave concern to Scopa members was the ability of provincial housing officials to override a rejection of an application by the national housing department after a check against the home affairs identification register and the deeds register.
African National Congress MP Vincent Smith said the officials “will feel the pain” of these kind of unacceptable explanations when Scopa formulated a resolution for adoption by the National Assembly on Fakie’s report.
He also stressed the urgency for the department to beef up its financial management and internal audit functions.
Scopa chairman Themba Godi said that the committee was not “100% satisfied” with the answers given.
Other members questioned the seriousness and commitment of the department to deal with the problems.
Godi criticised the department for not acting swiftly against corrupt officials.
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