Another delay for District Six

District Six's redevelopment may be delayed yet again, because a crucial business plan cannot be completed due to bungling by the Department of Human Settlements.

The department, formerly known as the Department of Land Affairs, has appointed a contractor, but the department failed to finalise the spatial plan, or development framework, on which the business plan had to be based.

A private development, seen as a pilot project, is under way after several hiccups, but now the project itself may be delayed, because the Auditor-General has recommended that no project should be launched before a proper business plan has been drawn up.

The business plan, which will form the basis for future development and which was due this month, will at best take several more months to materialise, it has emerged.

Willem Nero of the Western Cape Regional Land Claims Commission confirmed on Monday that although the commission had appointed contractor Target Projects to draw up the business plan at the end of last year, a development framework to inform the business plan has yet to be completed.

The development framework, which details proposed roads, parks and built structures, is essential to determine particulars such as the cost of building claimant homes and the share of development which will need to go towards commercial enterprises.

Premier Helen Zille slammed the delay, saying that despite assurances by the department and the contractor that the plan would be completed by July, it was nowhere near ready.

"We have now discovered that Land Affairs only tendered for the business plan, even though it was warned that the spatial plan had to be done first," she said.

She said another tender now had to be issued for a spatial plan.

"The plan must then be completed. And only then can the business plan proceed. All in all, this will mean at least another year of delays," she said.

Nero estimated that the spatial plan would be completed within three months.

He said the commission was in the process of appointing people to draw up the framework, that the spatial and business plans would be completed concurrently and that an agreement had been reached with Target that no penalties would be incurred as a result of the delay.

Terence Smith of Target Projects said that for now, the company would proceed with the business plan until it reached the point where it needed the input from the development framework.

Smith confirmed there were currently no penalties as a result of the delay and also that Target would not be bidding for the contract to complete the development framework.

"It simply means that once we get to a point where we can't proceed, we have to wait," he said.

Progress had previously been delayed for more than a year because of disagreement between the city council, the District Six Trust and the commission over the tenders for the development framework and the business plan.

An estimated 2 000 claimants are waiting to be returned to District Six, which has seen only 24 homes completed since the restitution drive was launched in the early days of democratic South Africa.

- Cape Argus

Cape protests 'about leadership'

Violent protests this week at Happy Valley shack settlement on the Cape Flats were sparked by a leadership struggle, not delivery, the councillor for the area said on Tuesday.

Ward councillor Bert van Dalen said about 200 residents erected burning barricades and burned toilets in Wimbledon Road on Monday morning.

The protesters left when police arrived,

Van Dalen said the unrest was allegedly around housing, but this did not make sense as the community was aware that the city would soon start building 1300 houses at Happy Valley.

'The underlying cause seems to be a leadership struggle among a small clique'

"The underlying cause seems to be a leadership struggle among a small clique," he said.

Years ago, the majority of the 5000-strong community had elected an executive to represent them.

This body had been co-operating responsibly with the city and local welfare organisations.

"The entire community cannot be held to ransom by a small minority of rabble rousers," he said. - Sapa

MPs probe N2 Gateway problems

The N2 Gateway housing project has been fraught with political, rather than administrative, challenges, the national Department of Housing has said.

And the City of Cape Town - three years after it was removed from the project because of political differences with the provincial and national governments - has again been included in discussions about the management of the N2 Gateway.

A new intergovernmental agreement for the project could be on the table by September.

"After the 2006 local elections, there were issues around the project," housing director-general Itumeleng Kotsoane said.

"The (city's DA) leadership indicated they were not interested in the project. The political atmosphere affected the functioning of the project.

"Thubelisha Homes (a Section 21 company) was asked (to take over management of the N2 Gateway) more because of the political challenges than administrative challenges."

Kotsoane said work was being done to revise the original agreement signed in 2005 by the three spheres of government, and a final agreement would be ready in two months.

The acknowledgement of political influence came during yesterday's parliamentary hearing on the Auditor-General's blistering report on mismanagement and irregularities in the N2 Gateway project.

Former MEC for housing and local government Richard Dyantyi was present, but not as a member of the provincial delegation.

The standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) grilled the delegation about the decision to appoint Cyberia Technologies to manage the housing project.

The Auditor-General's office reported that the city council had begun a forensic investigation of Cyberia's contract when it came into power in 2006, but the investigation had not been completed because of a lack of documentation.

Scopa chairman Themba Godi said it was evident the final decision to appoint Cyberia Technologies - which had a low score in the bid adjudication - had been made by the then-city manager Wallace Mgoqi.

Cyberia was awarded a R5-million contract, but cost the city R12-million.

The committee raised several concerns, including whether the council had been removed from the project in 2006 or had withdrawn voluntarily.

City executive director of housing Hans Smit said: "The city was removed because of certain disagreements."

Godi asked whether, after the city council had been removed, changes were made to the memorandum of understanding signed by the three spheres of government in February 2005 and defining their roles and responsibilities.

Kotsoane said the political atmosphere after March 2006 affected the functioning of the project.

It was decided that Thubelisha take over the project.

The Auditor-General's report noted that the N2 Gateway steering committee did not meet after May 2006, but Aaref Osman, of the national Department of Human Settlements, said it had met regularly.

The meetings "were not in the same form", but there was "engagement" with the province, he said.

The Auditor-General's office noted none of these discussions had been minuted.

Smit confirmed the city had not taken part in steering committee meetings after May 2006.

After two hours of discussion, Godi postponed the meeting to August 5.

He said Scopa wanted answers to questions about what steps had been taken against those responsible for the mismanagement of the project.

"We are dealing with public funds that have been used in an unsatisfactory way."

- Cape Times

No MPs evicted from parliamentary villages

Acting public works department director-general Solly Malebye on Tuesday refuted media reports that former MPs still living in parliamentary villages in Cape Town were refusing to move out. (IOL)

Malebye also rejected reports that the former MPs had been served with eviction notices.

"Six [former] MPs have asked for an extension and two MPs who have changed political parties leading up to the elections are required to move out of their current houses and move to those allocated for their new political party," he said.

Malebye said the matter was being blown out of proportion as the department was receiving co-operation from all people concerned.

Nothing to see here folks... Move right along...There is no way that the ANC would ever be so rude as to treat it's MPs like regular citizens and actually evict them. The former MPs (let's call them what they really are) are now staying on the perogative of the minister of public works while the MPs waiting for those homes are racking up a hotel bill. It has been important to stop the rot early. We are finding out that it can be very expensive when "people" stay at the state's expense. Mr Aristide costs the South African government a mere R5million a year!

Scopa halts hearing on Cape housing project

Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) postponed a hearing on a damning report into a Cape Town housing project on Tuesday after an "incoherent" response from the officials responsible for the project.

"There is a great deal of dissatisfaction at the way members of the committee are getting feedback," committee chairperson Themba Godi told representatives from the City of Cape Town and the provincial and national departments of human settlements.

"There is a lack of coherence of information, yet this was a project by the three spheres of government."

The aim of the multi-billion rand N2 Gateway Housing Project (N2GP) was to provide housing adjacent to the N2 Highway between Bhunga Avenue near Langa and Boys Town in Crossroads.

'There is a lack of coherence of information'

The report, released in June last year, found a number of irregularities in the project, which had been dogged by protests and a series of court challenges over evictions from the informal settlements it was supposed to replace, since its launch.

It said the business plan for the construction of the N2GP had not been finalised and approved before the actual construction commenced.

'Millions irregularly spent'

An interim business plan for the project had indicated that R3,42-billion was required to complete N2GP by 2009/10. This resulted in an overall shortfall of approximately R1,7-billion, of which the national department of housing (NDOH) would have to provide R1,68-billion.

"The NDOH could not indicate how they would pay the said amount," the report said.

The report said the project's business plan had indicated that the average income of households in the region was R1 200 per month. The income of 99 percent of the current tenants however, ranged from R1 500 to R7 500.

"Consequently affordable housing was not provided for the target market concerned."

Geotechnical surveys on soil problems were not completed prior to the commencement of the project. This resulted in costly improvements having to be made to the soil conditions and "delayed the delivery of the programme at critical stages".

The report found that the time frame of six months in which interested parties had to deliver the initial 22 000 planned units was insufficient.

It said work had commenced on certain sites prior to individual project approval from the Western Cape provincial government, resulting in irregular expenditure of R71,8-million.

Last week hundreds of residents from the N2 Gateway housing project marched through central Cape Town to protest against structural defects and plumbing problems. The 704 units in the complex were also said to be becoming havens for drug dealers.

"Everything is just wrong in that complex," chairperson of the residents' committee Luthando Ndabamba said.

The units that the protesters lived in were erected on land formerly occupied by shack-dwellers, many of whom had been relocated to more distant areas of the Cape Flats.

Scopa will next meet the City of Cape Town and the provincial and national departments of human settlements on August 5. - Sapa

Government officials speak out both sides of their mouths

Q. Do you plan to do anything about the temporary relocation area because the people of Joe Slovo and Langa are quite unhappy about the resettlement to Delft? (PMG)

TOKYO SEXWALE: We understand why people want to be where they are, they want to be close to their places of work,..... They want to be close to amenities. They want to have the kind of life that we are all having even though they are squatting. ......They also don’t want to be moved very far from where they are staying.

Director General Itumeleng Kotsoane: These are not evictions, these are relocations and they are intended to be temporary, so that we can allow work to be done on that portion of land, allocated for infrastructure to be built. But what we also say to people is it may happen that not all of you will come back and therefore we are bound to find alternative settlements and we will try by all means to make sure that we don’t uproot people far from places of work. So we are quite aware of that, the Department and the Province are providing additional transport for those people to go work, for their kids to go to school and so forth. There is some sensitivity about that issue.

ARE THEY EVICTIONS OR NOT? SOME WONT COME BACK.. THOSE ARE "EVICTIONS" RIGHT?

Q. Going back to the Joe Slovo question, concerning their marching. Are the people of Joe Slovo losing faith in this department?

TOKYO SEXWALE: Well, I don’t think it is matter of them losing faith in the department. But it is matter of them not taking the responsibility. Many of them are not paying rent. Remember when they got into those houses, they were work-shopped and screened to check if they could pay rent. So if they are not able to pay rent, they need to engage with the department, so that together we can find solutions. At the moment we think it is being unfair to the department, as they say that they are not going to pay rent.
Joe Slovo, Phase 1, is a social housing project, and the principle of social housing is that you pay rent. You don’t have ownership over the property. So this is done to provide options, if you are one of those people who do not qualify for housing. We can’t say that when people refuse to pay rent it is okay... Those who don’t pay will be required to get out of the houses. They don’t qualify for that type of housing as an option. The message must go out that government does not allow anarchy.

Deputy Minister, Ms Zo Kota: Consumer education is critical, in the process of building human settlements. Areas like the N2 Gateway, if we don’t maintain those flat they are going to go down. We need the rents to maintain those flats. We have to make sure that we are partners in making systems work. The people must have a sense of ownership of the N2 Gateway.

YOU WANT THE PEOPLE TO HAVE A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP? THE MINISTER JUST SAID: "YOU DON'T HAVE OWNERSHIP OVER THE PROPERTY"... SO A "SENSE OF OWNERSHIP WILL HAVE TO DO?

Bazookas!?

Q. We see there is a lot of unrest in the country, but what do you mean by saying that you have to step in? You have given an example of the situation at the N2 Gateway, Joe Slovo. So what would you do to stop this attitude? (PMG)

Tokyo Sexwale: We must continue to engage, because we can easily do things that will have an opposite effect. So we must sit down and talk with people. I have dealt with situations where people were holding bazookas and we sat down and talked to these people. But where the law has got to roll in, it is going to do that. Anarchy is anarchy and has to be dealt with. (When has Tokyo ever had to deal with people holding bazookas....? He did training... came to South Africa was caught and then went to prison. Bazookas...? bullshit....!!!)

Government refuses talks with angry residents

Government leaders have branded service delivery protests in Happy Valley earlier on Monday as "purely political" and have refused to meet with the community.

About 150 residents of the informal settlement burnt tyres and rubbish across Wimbledon Street, a busy main road that runs passed the area in the early hours of Monday morning.

The road was closed off to traffic and by about 9am council workers moved in to clear up the debris and smoldering tyre residue that remained from the heated protest.

No arrests were made and no injuries were reported according to police at the scene.

- Cape Argus

A lesson in activism - from a convicted terrorist & Beepartheid regimist

Mosima 'Tokyo' Sexwale, a guerrilla terrorist of the African National Congress. Sentenced to 18 years imprisonment. Left politics after liberation to Beecome a successful BEE entrepreneur; Host of South Africa's The Apprentice. Rejoined politics and is currently Minister of Human Settlements.

Charge: ...Terrorism & 'Selling-out' black national liberation.. Treason.

Defendants response:

(...) We lived in poverty and we were all subjected to the humiliation which the whites imposed upon the blacks.

We lived in the same typical 'matchbox' houses; we were continually aware that there was not enough money available to meet our needs for food, clothing and education;

and when we went into town and saw the relative luxury in which white people lived, this made an indelible impression on our young minds...

It is true that I was trained in the use of weapons and explosives. The basis of my training was in sabotage, which was to be aimed at institutions and not people...

We believe, and I believe, that the black people cannot be passive onlookers in their own country. We want to be active participants in shaping the face and course of direction of South Africa.

My Lord, these are the reasons why I find myself in the dock today... I realised that the struggle for freedom would be difficult and would involve sacrifices. I was and am willing to make those sacrifices...

The Cold War: A history in documents

My how the view has changed from the R56 million palace - fuck you matchbox house people! -

I'm sorry but we can't have heresy around here...

Sexwale warns unruly protesters

Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has warned that the government will take tough action against people who want to render any part of the country ungovernable.

"There are limits to social and political activism," he said on Tuesday. He was referring to violent protests over housing and services, and also to homeowners in towns deciding to withhold paying their rates.

Sexwale said the government was sensitive to the plight of people struggling with poverty.

'There should be zero tolerance for people who want to render any part of this country ungovernable'

"We know about, the recession, about people losing their jobs," he said. But where the government saw anarchy, it had to put a stop to it.

"There should be zero tolerance for people who want to render any part of this country ungovernable," he said.

Sexwale was responding to questions at a briefing after delivering his budget vote in Parliament, where he was asked about protests linked to the government's flagship N2 Gateway housing project in Cape Town, which has been plagued by problems.

He said the government would continue to engage residents, but said: "The message must go out that the government does not allow anarchy, there has to be consistency and stability."

Sexwale said it was necessary for the government to engage, and that it should "not easily be provoked into doing things you regret". But he added: "Where the law's got to roll in, it will do that."

He said the government had to distinguish between organisations and activists acting legitimately and those "acting under other flags".

But Sexwale admitted mistakes had been made with the N2 Gateway that could have been avoided.

- The Star

Urbanisation 'fuels crime in W Cape'

Rapid urbanisation is one of the main contributors towards the Western Cape's high levels of crime with the province's murder, aggravated robbery and residential burglary rates increasing the most out of all the provinces in the past 14 years, an Institute for Security Studies (ISS) researcher has said.

Senior researcher for the ISS's crime, justice and politics programme Johan Burger said that over the past couple of years, there had been a massive influx of people into the province from other parts of the country.

This meant more people were without jobs and basic services, which in turn had an impact on crime levels.

Burger was reacting to recent research released by the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR).

In a statement, the SAIRR suggested that the high incidence of crime, particularly murder and robbery, were linked to the province's wealth.

The Western Cape has the highest murder and robbery (business and residential) rates in the country.

In contrast, the province was found to be one of the wealthiest, contributing an impressive 14.5 percent to the economy's gross domestic product in 2007.

It also had a comparatively high ratio of police officers per person, with one police officer for every 300 people.

The SAIRR published details of the research in its Fast Facts newsletter.

"There seems to be a connection between the crime experienced by each province and the average income of the households living in that province," the newsletter said.

"The province with the highest average annual household income, the Western Cape, had the worst rates for murder, business burglary, residential burglary at a respective 59, 220 and 876 per 100 000 people. Between 1994 and 2008, the Western Cape's murder, aggravated robbery, and residential burglary rates increased the most out of all the provinces."

The province had an average household income of R147 648 in 2007.

Burger said drug and alcohol abuse were the most common contributors to crime in the province. However, rapid urbanisation was now also a major factor.

"You're having a massive influx of people when there is no infrastructure or services to provide for them because the government doesn't expect such numbers.

"When you couple that with poverty and unemployment, it creates a social condition that contributes to alcohol and drug abuse," he said.

People became desperate because of their living circumstance, Burger said. Some turned to alcohol and drugs, which fuelled crime; while a few others turned to crime to feed their families.

"I'm by no means saying that everybody turns to crime, but it does happen often in those circumstances," he said.

Burger explained the ISS was busy researching this topic, along with other aspects that determined the risk of crime.

He said he hoped the research would provide a springboard for follow-up research, such as field research and similar research with a more specific focus.

- Saturday Argus

NO VOTE NO HOUSE

Former MPs and their dependants, who are illegally occupying parliamentary houses, face eviction so the state can house new MPs who have been lodging at hotels at taxpayers' expense since May. (from IOL) Anyone can walk into Akacia Park! It's just that they don't want to leave!!!

House chairperson Ben Skosana told the National Assembly during Parliament's budget vote debate this week that the former MPs will be forced out of the parliamentary villages "where members and their dependants were not vacating the residences on time and the Department of Public Works had to initiate eviction processes".

Public Works spokesperson Thami Mchunu said "so far two MPs have been handed over to the state attorneys".

"The approximate period for eviction, on average, is three months but could be sooner depending on the co-operation of the member being evicted," said Mchunu.

An expert on property law told Weekend Argus that evictions, which involve lengthy legal process, could take at least a year and a half, if the occupants of the homes were unwilling to leave.

COPE complained earlier last month that its MPs had yet to be allocated houses, slamming the incompetence of the ANC.

National Assembly Speaker Max Sisulu said he was not aware of accommodation problems.

An ANC MP told Weekend Argus that this week he did not mind staying at a hotel because it saved him from having to cook.

MPs are housed at the Holiday Inn Express in St George's Mall, a walking distance from Parliament.

The hotel's rates start at just over R700 a night.

Notices by the Department of Public Works are displayed at the reception and in hotel lifts, reminding MPs that they were limited to R120 a day for dinner, "including two soft drinks" and R200 a week for laundry.

MPs are entitled to a home or a flat for a nominal fee - less than R200. This was considered one of their perks.

Skosana admitted that some MPs were still staying at hotels.

"There are 342 members who are taking occupation at the residences, and unfortunately a few have had to be accommodated at hotels while their residences were being vacated or renovated," said Skosana.

Mchunu said 12 MPs were still accommodated at hotels and his department was paying the bill.

Skosana's revelations come after Public Works Minister Geoff Doidge said he wanted to review the policy on parliamentary villages to speed up the process of new MPs moving into their houses.

"I want to look at this policy because it has a number of implications in terms of cost factors.

"We know it's very difficult for people who have lived in a house for five years when they are not re-elected and then have to leave.

"But we have to find more creative ways to allow that the newly elected members move in quickly, that's the policy we are going to be working on," Doidge said last month.

Meanwhile, Sisulu has admitted that Parliament was experiencing financial strain despite his denial in an interview with the Sunday Independent two weeks ago.

Sisulu said a R143-million budget shortfall will make it difficult for MPs to do their jobs properly.

Parliament's budget for this year is R947m and has been severely pruned as a result of the government's cost-cutting due to the recession.

Sisulu said the amount allocated was below what was required and it would be difficult to give MPs - about 50 percent of whom are new - the necessary training and support.

Sisulu said Parliament received less money than the Department of Public Works.

The chairman of committee chairpersons, Obed Bapela, said departments that invited committee members to meetings outside Cape Town were now being asked to foot the bill for transport and meals, while Parliament carried the cost of accommodation only.

No evictions during 2010 - Minister of Human Settlements

Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale has clarified media speculations that government will evict people living in informal settlements to hide them from tourists during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Speaking at a post Local Organising Committee press conference on Thursday, Minister Sexwale said those were dense assumptions and government had never planned to evict people living in shacks.

“There is a no policy that says government must evict people who are living in poverty or in shacks nearby venues. We cannot do that.

“We cannot hide people from the view of tourists. Actually government wants to empower these people and we will be more excited if tourists can visit these areas and buy in spaza shops in townships,” he said.

LOC Chief Executive Officer, Danny Jordaan said government and the LOC cannot be hypocritical by hiding people who are stricken by poverty, adding that media must stop spreading unnecessary and fallacious statements.

“That is not a position and tourists have been in these areas and are part of South Africa. Why would the government hide them?

“When you land in Cape Town you fly over shacks. Government did not evict these people during the Rugby World Cup and Cricket World Cup and other major international events, why now?” he said.

The Organising Committee Board met on Thursday to discuss the way forward to find solutions on how the challenges raised by FIFA President Sepp Blatter during the FIFA Confederations Cup could be improved.

Among the board members who attended the meeting were Minister of Home Affairs, Nkosazana Zuma-Dlamini, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Jeff Radebe, FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke and LOC Chairman Irvin Khoza.

Dr Khoza said the intention for the meeting was to identify the reactionary programmes that will ensure that the challenges of South Africa to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as raised by Mr Blatter, were dealt with accordingly and successfully.

“This meeting was very successful and we are ready to pursue our work with government, FIFA and host cities. We will have regular meetings to look at the issues relating to world cup such as budgets, among other things.

“As the board we are happy with the 7.5 points and we are looking forward to reach 10 points come 2010.

“We have taken all complaints, advices and complements from the public into account and we will utilize them as part of our strategic planning,” Dr Khoza said.

- SA2010

The battle for Constantia

The Western Cape provincial government is refusing to hand over the title deeds of the 1 000ha of prime land transferred to the newly established state Housing Development Agency (HDA) shortly before the national elections in April.

Premier Helen Zille's spokesperson, Robert MacDonald, told the Mail & Guardian last week that the provincial government still held the deeds and that transfer of the land could not proceed without them. After the ANC lost to the DA in the province, Zille accused the former ANC provincial government of "asset-stripping" and conducting the transfer of the land -- worth about R500-million -- in secret.

"The provincial government believes that the transaction is invalid and unenforceable," Solly Malatsi, media liaison officer in the Western Cape's ministry of transport and public works told the M&G.

Malatsi said a meeting with the minister of human settlements, Tokyo Sexwale, and the chief executive officer of the HDA, Taffy Adler, was being sought in an attempt to resolve the matter and, failing that, legal action could follow. "The land, including Porter Estate, has not yet been transferred to the HDA. It has been stopped pending resolution of the matter," he said.

Several prime properties in Constantia, which could have been used for the resettlement of about 80 land claimant families, are included in the land parcels quietly moved to the HDA, which was set up to fast-track housing delivery. Other properties transferred to the HDA are in Mowbray, Parow, Pinelands, Southfield and Philippi.

Constantia land claimants, who fear they may lose out to other beneficiaries of low-cost housing, say they need prompt answers about the land transfer as they are "dying off" while they wait for settlement. Frank Marco (71) said a number of pieces of land, including the sprawling Porter Estate bordering Tokai Forest, had been identified in the past 15 years as sites that could be used for their resettlement.

"Land is lying vacant in Constantia and the land is growing weeds. The situation is pathetic. After all these years of broken promises, still nothing is being done. We don't know why the ANC transferred the Constantia land, but we do need answers."

Beverley Jansen, Western Cape regional land claims commissioner, said she was not "formally advised" provincial land would be handed over to national government.

"Gaining access to state land on behalf of our claimants is fraught with challenges for the Regional Commission Western Cape. We do not own any land and have to apply for land from different government departments, including municipalities.

In the case of Constantia, we applied for land for our Constantia claimants. We have completed all our own processes and are waiting only for the Department of Public Works to release land for Constantia and eight other land claims," she said. Jansen said the claimants were "anxiously waiting" for the release of land.

"In spite of meeting regularly regarding state land, I was not informed of the Constantia matter. We do not need thousands of hectares, just sufficient for about 80 families," she said. "Some families wish to return to urban farming and others just want a residential property. Our processes require that we give post-settlement support to all our claimants. We are ready to do so."

The land was signed over by former MEC of transport and public works Kholeka Mqulwana to former unionist Adler of the HDA on May 5 this year. It is believed the valuable land was transferred at no charge by the ANC provincial government on April 21, the day before the elections.

Porter Estate is one of the portions of land mooted by the former provincial government for low-cost houses for the second phase of the government's N2 project.

Adler refused to comment on the matter and said he was unaware of the Constantia land claimants' concerns about the transfer. Only project managers from the now technically insolvent government housing agent, Thubelisha Homes, would move over to the HDA, said Adler.

A project management company, Thubelisha has been involved in the government's flagship Gateway housing project in the Western Cape, which has been fraught with problems, including invasions by landless communities.

- M&G