Please note Riona Gokool, MPL sound bite in English
• Project has been eight years in the making.
• Residents refuse to sign offer-to-purchases due to health and safety risks.
• DA will insist that KZN Human Settlements, eThekwini Municipality take urgent steps to rectify matters.
A written parliamentary reply (view here) to questions by the Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has confirmed that the transfer process at the R43 million Lansdowne Flats project in eThekwini has stalled. This, after residents refused to sign offer-to-purchase agreements due to poor building standards.
The response, from KZN’s Department of Human Settlements (DHS), further confirms that an NHBRC report highlighting construction concerns was received and reviewed, yet more than eight years later many of the underlying issues remain unresolved.
Lansdowne flats residents were promised homes. Yet, they have been forced to wait years for security of tenure. This is unacceptable. No one should have to choose between accepting defective homes or forfeiting the opportunity of home ownership. Government has a responsibility to ensure that housing delivered to beneficiaries is safe, compliant and fit for purpose.
Acknowledgement by the DHS, that only emergency repairs are currently being undertaken due to funding constraints is deeply concerning, particularly when residents continue to face health and safety risks.
As a responsible partner within KZN’s Government of Provincial Unity (GPU), the DA will insist on urgent intervention. We now call on the department and eThekwini Municipality to jointly:
• Commission an updated structural assessment;
• Develop a time-bound remediation plan; and
• Engage directly with residents to restore confidence in the project.
The ownership process should only proceed once defects have been addressed and residents are assured that units meet the required standards.
The DA will continue to exercise robust oversight to ensure that the commitments made to Landsdowne flats residents are honoured. They deserve transparency, dignity and the opportunity to own safe, quality homes as originally promised.