Note to Editors: Attached please find a soundbite in English here by Evert Du Plessis MPL.
The Montrose Mega City Human Settlements Project in Randfontein continues to languish in disrepair while thousands of residents are denied the housing opportunities they were rightfully promised. Years of neglect, inaction and poor oversight by the Gauteng Provincial Government have allowed public infrastructure to deteriorate while the housing crisis deepens.
The DA will table questions to the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Tasneem Motara, demanding answers on why this project has been abandoned, how much public money has been spent, who has been held accountable, and when the rehabilitation and completion of the project will finally take place.
The Montrose Mega Project was launched in 2017 by former Gauteng Premier David Makhura and former MEC for Human Settlements Paul Mashatile as a flagship R11 billion development aimed at dismantling apartheid-era spatial segregation. It promised to deliver an integrated, high-density, mixed-income city that would expand access to quality housing and economic opportunities.
Nearly a decade later, that promise has been reduced to rubble. This was laid bare yesterday during the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) oversight inspection of Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the project, which exposed a shocking scene of decay: stripped doors, window frames, and roofing, collapsed walls, exposed reinforcing steel, and stolen bricks, leaving what was meant to be a thriving housing development looking more like the aftermath of a tornado. Even worse, the bulk infrastructure needed to support the development is missing, underlining the lack of meaningful progress.
See photos here, here, here, here and here.
This is despite the DA repeatedly warning that abandoned construction sites become magnets for vandalism, theft, and the destruction of public assets, and calls for accountability, forensic investigations into failed housing projects such as Montrose, and the appointment of reputable contractors to restore and complete these developments.
Premier Panyaza Lesufi and MEC Tasneem Motara should be ashamed of their actions, or lack thereof. While they are regularly seen handing over title deeds across Gauteng, which is a welcome initiative given the housing backlog, questions have to be asked as to why they have not visited Montrose to witness firsthand the consequences of their neglect of a housing project that has cost Gauteng taxpayers millions of rand but has yet to provide any value for money.
The impact for the residents is undeniable. Instead of moving into safe, permanent housing, many told the DA that they continue to live in inadequate living conditions without water, electricity, and proper sanitation. At the same time, taxpayers are left footing the bill for a project that continues to disintegrate before their eyes.
The people of Randfontein deserve better than a government that, no matter who is in charge, continues to make expensive commitments it has no intention of fulfilling. A DA-led Gauteng Provincial Government would urgently carry out a forensic investigation into this project and hold whoever is responsible for its collapse accountable. We will inspect the structures to determine if they are suitable for rehabilitation and hire qualified contractors to complete the job within a specified budget and timeline.