Gauteng housing delivery scales backwards after R900m funding withdrawn

The money — allocated to the Gauteng department of human settlements in the form of a conditional grant — was meant for the “creation of sustainable and integrated human settlements” but was withdrawn by the Treasury.

Housing delivery in Gauteng might grind to a halt because of the withdrawal of more than R900m in funding.

The money — allocated to the Gauteng department of human settlements in the form of a conditional grant — was meant for the “creation of sustainable and integrated human settlements” but was withdrawn by the Treasury after the department failed to spend it.

A report by the auditor- general presented yesterday to the provincial standing committee on public accounts indicates that the department might have spent the money unlawfully.

The report points to other problems in the department of human settlements that might have contributed to the withdrawal of the grant, including “inadequate planning due to project management capacity”.

“The conditional grant to provide funding for the creation of sustainable and integrated human settlements from the national Department of Human Settlements to [the Gauteng department of human settlements] was adjusted down by R908.3-million in terms of section 19 of the Division of Revenue Act, 2015,” the auditor-general says.

The report adds: “Grant fund utilisation for purposes contrary to the conditions of [the] grant are not cash-backed and may impact performance reporting and result in [the] grant being stopped.”

Section 19 of the act states that a grant can be spent only for the purpose specified.