Mxolisi Dukwana, the human settlements MEC in Free State, is tackling corruption head on in the provincial department of housing.
On Tuesday, Dukwana joined the human settlements’ security management and anti-corruption unit and the police in a sting operation to determine the authenticity of occupants in 15 houses located in Hillside View in Bloemfontein.
This after signs of collusion emerged between the housing department officials and the Mangaung Metro following allegations of manipulation of the housing beneficiaries’ list.
Hillside View has 600 housing units that Dukwana’s department has built to eradicate housing challenges in the province.
Dukwana said there will be more verifications to follow, and in the event of the occupants being found to have benefitted fraudulently, the law will take its course and the rightful beneficiaries allocated those houses.
“In one of the affected houses, the illegal occupant confessed that they were paying rent to someone who is part of the ring that manipulated the system to register fraudulent claims,” said Dukwana.
The MEC added that his department will continue with the sting operation to root out corruption and cast the net wide in an attempt to bring to book the officials responsible for selling houses illegally.
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