THE DA has threatened to force the Limpopo government to implement rules that will hold public servants accountable for paying contractors who do not complete building RDP houses.
This follows an oversight visit by DA leader in the national Parliament Athol Trollip.
He undertook the visit on Monday to assess progress by the provincial government in acting against the implicated contractors.
Trollip visited three villages in Limpopo to see for himself the condition of the houses that had been built and those projects that had been abandoned.
He said he believed that government officials were to blame because they had been responsible for authorising payment before checking that the work had been completed.
First Trollip visited a settlement in the Mogalakwena municipality and then Mmotwaneng village in Marble Hall municipality before wrapping up in Makurung village in the Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality in Lebowakgomo.
"What one can say from my experience after visiting these areas is that it is clear that the reason why the government is not acting against the contractors is that they had given the contracts to their friends," Trollip said.
He said it was surprising that the contractors could be allowed to get away with huge amounts of money while the majority of the people were suffering and had no roofs over their heads.
"We have realised that the government is hardly going to prosecute the contractors because they cannot afford to deal with their friends," he said.
He said housing lists should be transparent so that beneficiaries knew how long they had to wait for houses.
Trollip said they would return within a year to see what steps had been taken against the contractors and government officials responsible for authorising payments.
DA probes contractors, officials
THE DA has threatened to force the Limpopo government to implement rules that will hold public servants accountable for paying contractors who do not complete building RDP houses.
This follows an oversight visit by DA leader in the national Parliament Athol Trollip.
He undertook the visit on Monday to assess progress by the provincial government in acting against the implicated contractors.
Trollip visited three villages in Limpopo to see for himself the condition of the houses that had been built and those projects that had been abandoned.
He said he believed that government officials were to blame because they had been responsible for authorising payment before checking that the work had been completed.
First Trollip visited a settlement in the Mogalakwena municipality and then Mmotwaneng village in Marble Hall municipality before wrapping up in Makurung village in the Lepelle-Nkumpi municipality in Lebowakgomo.
"What one can say from my experience after visiting these areas is that it is clear that the reason why the government is not acting against the contractors is that they had given the contracts to their friends," Trollip said.
He said it was surprising that the contractors could be allowed to get away with huge amounts of money while the majority of the people were suffering and had no roofs over their heads.
"We have realised that the government is hardly going to prosecute the contractors because they cannot afford to deal with their friends," he said.
He said housing lists should be transparent so that beneficiaries knew how long they had to wait for houses.
Trollip said they would return within a year to see what steps had been taken against the contractors and government officials responsible for authorising payments.