SIU investigates Housing Development Agency projects

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is probing widespread corruption in several projects across the country funded by the Housing Development Agency (HDA).

According to the proclamation signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa, the SIU investigation will focus on serious maladministration in the HDA’s affairs in projects for provincial Human Settlements departments in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West, Northern Cape, and the Western Cape.

This includes the identification, acquisition, holding, development, and release of state, communal, and privately owned land for residential and community purposes by the agency, in its name, or for and on behalf of the provincial departments or by the departments in their name.

The unit will also investigate whether the contracts were awarded in a manner that was not fair, competitive, transparent, equitable, or cost-effective and contrary to applicable legislation, manuals, guidelines, practice notes, circulars or instructions issued by the National Treasury or the relevant provincial Treasuries applicable to the HDA and the departments.

The SIU is tasked with uncovering any related unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, or wasteful expenditure incurred by the HDA and the departments, or losses suffered by the agency, departments, or the state concerning the allegations.

In addition, the probe will look into any irregular, improper, or unlawful conduct by the applicable service providers of the HDA and the departments or any other person or entity, relating to the allegations.

Ramaphosa gave the SIU the green light to investigate serious maladministration in connection with the agency’s affairs and the departments, improper or unlawful conduct by employees, unlawful expenditure of public money and other offences referred to in the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act committed in connection with the affairs of both the HDA and the departments.

The investigation will also tackle unlawful or improper conduct by any person, which has caused or may cause serious harm to the interests of the public or any category thereof, which took place between April 2016 and last month or which took place before or after the date of the proclamation but is relevant to, connected with, incidental or ancillary to the matters mentioned or involve the same persons, entities or contracts investigated under the proclamation’s authority.

The SIU is also empowered to recover any losses suffered by the HDA and the departments or the state.

In December 2023, the Sunday Independent reported that the then Human Settlements minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, demanded answers after a former agency official accused one of his bosses of approving about R20.3 million in pre-payments to consultants for the upgrading of the informal settlement programme (UISP) meant to benefit four Eastern Cape district municipalities in 2021.

The ex-employee stated that another former executive called him to a meeting in August 2021 and handed him a piece of paper with six companies that he wanted to benefit from the UISP in the Eastern Cape, which was valued at more than R270m for 2021/22 alone.

Cape Times