Gauteng Human Settlements MEC’s Shocking Failure to Address Syndicates Hijacking RDP Homes

ActionSA is appalled by the recent response from the Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements, Tasneem Motara, regarding the unlawful sale and hijacking of RDP houses. The MEC’s reply to ActionSA’s written questions in the Provincial Legislature is a masterclass in deflection and exposes a department completely out of touch with the reality facing our most vulnerable communities.

When explicitly asked about the number of unlawful RDP sales or allocations referred to the South African Police Service, the MEC failed to provide relevant answers.
Instead of detailing actions against the syndicates hijacking subsidised homes, the MEC cited the illegal sale of vacant land in Eagles Nest, the illegal sale of stands in Marlboro, and cases of scammers creating fake TikTok and Facebook profiles.

The only case involving the illegal sale of RDP houses a matter in Alberton which the MEC confirmed it has been provisionally withdrawn.

The Department’s track record on enforcement is effectively non-existent. By the MEC’s own admission:

1. Zero Convictions: Not even one of the escalated cases has resulted in a successful criminal conviction.
2. Zero Houses Reclaimed: The State and Province have failed to successfully reclaim a single illegally occupied or sold RDP property, managing only to take back one hijacked portion of land.
3. A Broken Monitoring System: The Provincial e-Government Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform, which the Department claims to use for compliance monitoring, has logged exactly zero fraud tips or complaints related to the unlawful sale of RDP houses since its inception. This is not proof that the system is working; it is glaring proof that it is entirely broken and inaccessible to the communities it claims to serve.

Furthermore, the Department lacks any proactive, systemic monitoring measures to enforce the 8-year restriction on the sale of RDP homes under Section 10A of the National Housing Act. Instead of conducting proactive physical audits, the Department relies on “consumer education,” title deed restrictions, and a hotline. They openly admit that these illegal sales are happening informally via affidavits outside of legislated provisions, yet their only defence is administrative paperwork.

The Joint Allocations Committees, meant to manage these challenges, have done little more than recommend policy reviews to curb “queue jumping” caused by emergency allocations from informal settlements. This reactive approach continually punishes the rightful, approved beneficiaries who have been waiting patiently for years.

ActionSA demands real, physical housing audits and tangible consequence management, not empty rhetoric and deflections. We cannot allow criminal syndicates and illegal occupants to continue stealing the dignity of our people while the Department busies itself with prosecuting social media scammers.

The party will continue to hold the MEC accountable until real action is taken to protect subsidised housing in Gauteng.

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