Community demands accountability following report on housing corruption in Phoenix

WHILE community organisations and political parties have welcomed the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) report on maladministration related to housing developments on municipal-land in Phoenix, they are demanding swift and decisive action to hold those implicated accountable.  

Mervin Govender, general-secretary of the Phoenix Tenants Residents Association, said the community demanded urgent action including a criminal investigation.

He said the SIU report had confirmed long-standing allegations of corruption, maladministration, and irregularities in the management of housing projects, such the eThekwini Municipality's  Infill Housing Programme (IHP).  

“The report exposed how housing opportunities were wrongfully diverted from qualifying beneficiaries through fraudulent allocation of units to ineligible individuals, the bypassing of official housing waiting lists and manipulation of records. It also exposed  a conflict of interest and abuse of authority by certain officials and intermediaries like contractors, and the failure to follow proper processes in title deed transfers and beneficiary verification,” he said.

Govender added that the findings validated the concerns raised for years by residents and community organisations, who have persistently called for transparency and justice. 

“The community of Phoenix now demands urgent action. We call for the immediate suspension and prosecution of all implicated officials. There should also be a full criminal investigation by the police into the conduct of those identified in the SIU report. 

“Furthermore, there needs to be the recovery of wrongfully allocated properties and reallocation to verified rightful beneficiaries, and fast-tracking of title deed transfers to all qualifying long-term occupants.

“Housing is a constitutional right, not a privilege. Corruption that deprives legitimate beneficiaries of their homes is a violation of human dignity and the law. We call on the SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority, and the Department of Human Settlements to act immediately and decisively to ensure accountability, restore trust, and uphold the rule of law,” he said. 

Alice Govender, chairperson of the Phoenix Civic and Ratepayers Association, said they welcomed the report findings. 

“Concerned civics and ratepayers associations must be applauded for their ongoing persistence in getting this report released.  This report confirms our suspicions of corruption and maladministration, as well as the sheer arrogance and audacity of municipal officials to stonewall civic enquiries. 

“In addition, instead of low cost housing projects,  expensive homes have been built, enriching only the said developers. Furthermore, due to the municipality turning a blind eye to complaints and/or endorsing the said developers, many more ‘developers’ have jumped on the band wagon. Everyone in Phoenix is now a developer.

“While the report is damning, what remains to be seen is how our dysfunctional municipality,  including its town planning and human settlements departments will be correcting the rampant corruption within it. As civics and ratepayers associations we would like the opportunity to engage positively with the municipality in an effort to rebuild trust that has been lost,” she said. 

Dhevan Pillay, a member of the Grounds Committee, a sub-committee of the Phoenix Local Football Association, said the report raised serious concerns about the process that the municipality had followed in the sale of its land to developers. 

“It was meant to be a project to create housing for people within the middle-income bracket, but what it morphed into was something totally different. We have had sports fields taken over to produce housing for the people in the upper-income bracket. If you are going to take sport fields, parks and other open spaces, it should be for the right reasons, not for people that can afford to buy houses, but rather for the less privileged.

“In addition, many of these lands have been used to build houses and commercial businesses, but without any upgrades, which is causing strain on the current infrastructure and residents,” he said.

Pillay added that there needed to be action taken against those mentioned in the report. 

“What they have done is an absolute tragedy.  However, while the report highlights irregularities, it carries limited weight until law enforcement conducts a thorough investigation and makes arrests where warranted.

“Furthermore, the affected land needs to be reclaimed and properly registered in the municipality’s asset register to prevent further misuse and ensure accountability,”  he said. 

Shameen Thakur-Rajbansi, leader of the Minority Front, said the report confirmed what residents had long experienced. 

“As the Minority Front, we supported infill housing from the outset on the clear understanding that it would be fair to Phoenix residents living in overcrowded homes, with an agreed 75% allocation for locals and 25% for deserving families from outside the area to promote social cohesion. 

“But once political balance shifted after the Minority Front lost seats, majoritarianism was enforced resulting in rules being  bent,  open spaces and greenbelts were grabbed, quality-dropped, and non-qualifying beneficiaries were placed leaving communities without lungs, children without play-parks, and ratepayers without value for money,” she said.

Thakur-Rajbansi said the consequences must be decisive. 

“Officials who transgressed the IHP guidelines and the municipality's supply chain management laws should face disciplinary action and criminal prosecution where warranted. Developers implicated in unlawful conduct must be blacklisted from future work, compelled to remediate sub-standard units, and pursued for civil recovery of losses.

“In addition, a full audit of beneficiary lists is needed so that only qualifying families remain in situ, with alternative accommodation arranged for others.  Rental-only schemes that trap families in perpetual tenancy should be converted to pathways to ownership, with CSOS-supported training to professionalize body corporates and stabilise buildings,” she said.

She added that the impact of the development has been severe for residents and ratepayers.

“It has resulted in environmental degradation, overcrowding, depreciating property values, service strain, and eroded trust. However, the remedy is transparent land disposal, community-involved planning, independent oversight of housing allocations, protection of green spaces, and relentless consequence management. Only then can the infill housing programme return to its original intent of dignified, lawful, value-for-money housing that builds cohesive neighbourhoods instead of undermining them.”

Jonathan Annipen, an IFP councillor in Phoenix, said in 2022, the party caucus had called for an urgent audit of all IHP in eThekwini, demanding a detailed report on what was completed, what was left incomplete, and which contractors were responsible. 

“The results of that audit, now before the council, are nothing short of alarming. In addition, almost every single project handled by Woodglaze, one of the developers cited in the SIU report,  remains incomplete, leaving residents in a state of limbo. 

“To compound this outrage, residents are occupying these homes without certificates of occupation from the municipality, in direct contravention of building and safety regulations. This is not just administrative negligence, it is a willful dereliction of duty that endangers lives. Officials responsible for this must be held accountable for dereliction of duty,” he said.

He said they demanded immediate action, which included full cost recovery and special leave for implicated officials. 

“The municipality must take urgent legal steps to recover all outstanding funds from all developers cited in the report. In addition, every official named or linked in this report must be placed on immediate suspension to prevent interference and ensure transparent investigations.

“The city manager must also set clear deadlines for action and consequence management. The days of endless, open-ended “investigations” must end now. This is also an opportunity for the city manager to regain the trust of ratepayers. If he fails to act decisively, he will be deemed complicit and must be equally held accountable,” he said. 

Annipen said they also demanded that the SIU report be shared with the Auditor-General of South Africa, the Public Protector and the KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs. 

“These bodies must monitor the handling of this matter to ensure there is no cover-up and that justice is done.

“In addition, we call on ratepayer associations, civic bodies, and residents across eThekwini to demand action. This is public money and this is a matter of public interest. Those responsible, whether developers or municipal officials,  must face real consequences.

“We will not stand by while the public purse is plundered and residents are forced to live in unsafe, incomplete housing. The time for talking is over, now is the time for action,” he said. 

Thinta Cibane, spokesperson for the ANC eThekwini Region, said the party supported the rule of law and stood opposed to any abuse of the municipality’s resources. 

“Our view is that anyone accused should be brought to book and given an opportunity to respond to the allegations against them.

“We call on the municipality to finalise its internal proceedings promptly while encouraging those in the criminal justice system to prioritize the swift resolution of such matters to strengthen public confidence in government,” he said.

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