At the present rate, it will take the Eastern Cape government more than a decade to provide decent houses for the 62,000-plus people on its approved beneficiary list.
The province will need more than R16bn to deal with the backlog, while its annual budget to address the housing crisis is just over R1.5bn.
This was revealed by human settlements MEC Siphokazi Lusithi in a recent report to the Bhisho legislature, in response to questions posed by DA MPL Chantel King.
According to the department’s website, the total housing needs backlog in the province stood at more than 774,700 in October. More than R27bn would be needed to eradicate it.
However, in her response to King, Lusithi said the total housing needs backlog was “not yet committed” and needed to go through a qualifying [criterion] process in terms of housing policy”.
“The total projected expenditure to service the 62,000 approved beneficiaries will require R16bn,” Lusithi said.
Asked by King how many years it would take her department to clear this backlog, the MEC said it would take at least 11 years.
“The department’s current annual budget allocation, as per the human settlements development grant (HSDG), to implement various subsidy programmes averages approximately R1.5bn.
“Based on this allocation, it is estimated that addressing the existing housing backlog identified through the housing needs register would take approximately 11 years, assuming all listed beneficiaries meet the eligibility criteria outlined in the national housing code and comply with the requirements of the housing subsidy system.
“Given the financial constraints resulting from declining budget allocations over the years, the department continues to prioritise destitute households, vulnerable groups, military veterans and child-headed households, in alignment with current budgetary trends and policy directives.”
Asked whether any portion of the R1.5bn annual grant allocation had ever been reprioritised, underspent or committed to projects outside the approved human settlements development plan, Lusithi said this had not happened.
“However, the department had only reprioritised funds in response to the June 2025 flood disasters, with R60m redirected from the HSDG to finance temporary residential units required to address the needs of disaster-affected victims.”
Millions of rand in irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure continue to flow through the system, including payments where milestones could not be verified on site, and projects where contractors underperform with no meaningful accountability
— DA MPL Chantel King
Areas around Mthatha and Butterworth were particularly hard hit by the floods, which killed more than 100 people and displaced thousands of others.
King said the Eastern Cape’s housing crisis was far deeper than the figures presented in Lusithi’s response suggested.
“[The department’s] annual report reflects a far larger and long-standing pattern of underperformance.
“The provincial backlog stands at 774,700 units, with an estimated eradication cost of R27bn, but the province only receives R1.5bn per year through the HSDG.
“This means families already waiting for adequate shelter may remain in substandard conditions for up to 18 years if nothing changes.
“This crisis is not the result of budget constraints alone, but of systemic failures in delivery.
“Year after year, the department meets its administrative requirements and receives unqualified audits, but clean audits mask the reality on the ground.”
Until the systemic failures in planning, oversight and project management were addressed, King said, the housing backlog would continue to grow, and the promise of dignified shelter would remain out of reach for hundreds of thousands of families.
In the 2024/2025 financial year, King said, only one informal settlement out of a planned 29 was upgraded to phase 3.
She said thousands of title deeds remained outstanding, and more than 30,000 RDP houses stood incomplete across 87 projects, many dating back decades.
“These are governance failures that leave families without dignity, security or opportunity,” she said.
Lusithi’s parliamentary response, King said, revealed a worrying pattern of weak oversight and insufficient consequence management.
“Millions of rand in irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure continue to flow through the system, including payments where milestones could not be verified on site, and projects where contractors underperform with no meaningful accountability.”
EFF MPL Simthembile Madikizela said the party condemned “the state of hopelessness” displayed by the provincial executive.
“Their stance on the matter proves lack of appetite and innovation to resolve issues of budget in the province.
“We have on many occasions cautioned the province over its reliance [on] National Treasury and [equitable] share.
“The province’s inability to generate revenue is the main reason we have such a backlog in human settlements and other departments.
“The EFF will raise this for debate in the legislature, as people of the province cannot wait another 11 years or more to have their basic right, which is the right to shelter,” Madikizela said.
Daily Dispatch
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