Infrastructure
The EFF is in possession of a document from your Department that was found in a trash bin and contains the personal information of residents of Kanana who applied for housing opportunities in Forest Village and have not received any:
- (a) How is it possible that a document containing sensitive, personal information of housing applicants, who submitted that information to your Department, is found in a trash bin and (b) why have those applicants not been granted housing to date;
- whether his Department will investigate how this document ended up in the trash; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
(1)(a)(b)(2) A public notice with a list of names of potential beneficiaries from Kanana was placed in public areas, such as spaza shops, crèches and public open spaces, in consultation with the Ward Councillor and Project Steering Committee members. The Department had no control over the behaviour of public members who had vandalised and/or removed these posters from the agreed designated areas. The Department did provide additional posters after the initial posters were removed.
The proposed list of Kanana beneficiaries was collated in conjunction with the Project Steering Committee and Ward Councillor who provided the names of the elderly. The Department compiled the names of potential beneficiaries for public comment. Numerous objections were raised after it was established that applicants on the list did not conform to the Western Cape Framework Policy, which prioritises the elderly, disabled and most vulnerable members of the community.
In 2020, 26 applicants were removed from the list because of their age group and replaced with people living with disabilities. The Provincial Minister of Infrastructure, National Deputy Minister and the community agreed, in a public meeting in March 2020, that priority be granted to the elderly, disabled and vulnerable members of Kanana.
At a public meeting, the commitment was made that the list of proposed beneficiaries be shared for public comment. The dates of birth were included as part of transparency and the intent was to prioritise the elderly and disabled. The draft list was not a guarantee that the potential beneficiaries identified would receive a house in the Forest Village project.
