Sexwale: Corruption takes two

Cape Town - Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale has called on business to "join hands with government" in the fight against corruption in housing deliver.

The businessman-turned-politician made the call ahead of his first round-table meeting with business and civil society on Friday aimed at building more meaningful public-private partnerships.

More than 250 representatives from parliament, government, civil society, banks like Absa and Standard Bank as well as companies in the construction sector like Grinaker LTA and Group 5 are attending what's being billed as the "Social Contract Plenary Session". The meeting is being held over two days in Ekurhuleni.

Sexwale has been forthright about the extent of the corruption in his department - as confirmed by a recent government audit.

"As we speak, a total of 40 000 houses countrywide must be rectified or completely demolished as a consequence of bad workmanship. Corruption is the curse of our society, and must be stamped out without any equivocation - no matter at what level of society it takes place, and irrespective of whether it is within government, the private sector, NGOs and so on," he said.

While he acknowledges that corruption begins with government officials awarding questionable contracts and turning a blind eye to poor building standards, he called the private sector to acknowledge how they had contributed to the problem.

"It takes two to corrupt," said Sexwale, who pointed out that the Special Investigations Unit had already brought to book more than 800 government officials who had houses and subsidies they shouldn't have had.

And, when it comes to the private sector, five lawyers have been struck from the roll for corrupt activities associated with housing.

"And we are hot on the heels of identified companies involved in nefarious activities. We simply cannot allow people to turn the poor into a business. This is morally reprehensible," says Sexwale.

The meeting is expected to look at some of the critical problems facing government.

Government has built 2.8 million homes in the last 15 years but the housing backlog is the same as it was in 1997 - 2.2 million.

One working group will look at how financial institutions, government and developers can collaborate to provide better quality affordable housing.

It will also review government's achievements to date through its housing subsidies. Another group will focus on social cohesion and will look at ways of building greater community involvement in finding housing solutions.

- Fin24.com