Public protector Thuli Madonsela said a "blitz" by her officials had uncovered government-subsidised housing projects that were often shambolic, and instances where beneficiaries were selling their RDP houses for as little as R2000.
Madonsela told parliament's portfolio committee on human settlements that 10% of complaints received by her office in 2010/2011 related to maladministration in the delivery of government-subsidised housing.
"By July 2012, the public protector had received approximately 1987 complaints relating to maladministration in the delivery of RDP houses," said Madonsela.
The blitz by officials from her office and the Department of Human Settlements found that houses had been built without provision for water and sanitation in the Eastern Cape's Sakhisizwe Municipality.
Municipalities often planned housing projects without factoring in rapid urbanisation and, in many cases, informal settlements mushroomed overnight. This placed a strain on sanitation and electrical systems, she said.
While the people's housing projects process had placed the initiative at the door of beneficiaries, these projects were often "hijacked" by developers who sometimes built sub-standard houses.
"People's housing projects were supposed to put the projects in the hands of beneficiaries but officials and inspectors [have used the opportunity] to abdicate their responsibilities," said Madonsela.
The six-month period beneficiaries were given in which to complain about their new homes was too short, she said, adding that evidence of RDP homes falling apart was increasing. In the middle of last year, Madonsela found there was no standardised specification for RDP houses, though this was a requirement of the National Home Builder Registration Council.
Madonsela said her officials had uncovered instances where houses had been allocated to beneficiaries only to be sold for as little as R2000 later on.
She added that some beneficiaries complained that they had not yet received their title deeds.
Committee chairman Nomhle Dambuza said there were systems in place to ensure that housing beneficiaries received their title deeds.
Human Settlements director-general Thabani Zulu said the observations made by Madonsela were "quite confirming".
"There are some solutions in the policy instruments that we have. The issue is implementation," said Zulu.
He said housing officials were often more focused on outcomes - delivering houses - than the necessary processes.
"Our project management teams have to be equipped to ensure that processes aren't neglected. Getting that right will resolve some of our problems," said Zulu.
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