There are few things more painful than looking into the eyes of a mother who has spent decades on a government housing waiting list while watching someone else occupy the home that was meant for her family. It is a pain I have witnessed too often. It is the pain of broken promises, stolen opportunities and a system that has, for far too long, failed the very people it was created to serve.
A government-funded house is not a privilege reserved for the connected or the corrupt. It is a constitutional commitment to restore dignity to South Africans who have lived through poverty, overcrowding and generations of inequality. When that commitment is abused, it is not simply a policy failure, it is a betrayal of every law-abiding citizen who has waited patiently and honestly for a place to call home.
For this reason, ActionSA welcomes the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements’ decision to evict unlawful occupants from government funded houses. It is a necessary affirmation that the rule of law still matters and that public resources cannot be captured without consequence.
This is not about targeting vulnerable people or creating division. It is about restoring fairness. It is about ensuring that government housing reaches those who qualify for it under South African law. Every illegally occupied house represents a deserving family that continues to wait. Every fraudulent allocation deepens public mistrust and fuels the belief that honesty no longer pays.
For years, corruption has poisoned housing allocation processes. Syndicates, officials and politically connected individuals have manipulated beneficiary lists while ordinary residents watched their dreams disappear. Some government houses have even been unlawfully rented out for profit, turning a public asset into a private business while legitimate beneficiaries remain trapped in informal settlements, backyard shacks and overcrowded family homes.
This cannot continue. As Johannesburg’s MMC for Human Settlements, I will not accept a housing system where corruption determines who gets a home. My responsibility will be to restore integrity to every stage of the housing allocation process.
I will ensure that beneficiary databases are properly audited, transparent and regularly updated. Every allocation must withstand public scrutiny. Every allegation of fraud must be investigated thoroughly, and where officials are implicated, disciplinary and criminal processes must follow without fear or favour.
I will work closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure that unlawfully occupied government houses are recovered through lawful processes and returned to qualifying beneficiaries. The rule of law must apply consistently, because selective enforcement only encourages further abuse.
But enforcement alone is not enough. We must dramatically improve the delivery of housing. We must remove unnecessary bureaucratic delays that leave projects incomplete for years. We must ensure that land earmarked for housing is protected from illegal occupation while accelerating the construction.
Communities themselves must also become active partners in protecting public resources. That is why I strongly support residents who come forward to report corruption, fraudulent allocations and unlawful occupation. Silence only protects those who continue to steal from the poor.
Every report deserves proper investigation. Every whistleblower deserves to know that their voice matters.
For me, this issue has never been about politics. It is about justice.
Housing is where children grow up. It is where families build memories. It is where elderly parents find security after a lifetime of hard work. To deny someone that opportunity through corruption or illegal occupation is to rob them of far more than bricks and mortar, it is to rob them of dignity, stability and hope.
Johannesburg deserves a Human Settlements Department that people can trust again. A department that serves residents rather than syndicates. A department where transparency replaces secrecy, accountability replaces corruption and fairness replaces favouritism.
That is the commitment I make to every resident still waiting for a place to call home.
The waiting list should never become a life sentence because someone else chose to break the law. Government must honour its promise to those who have waited patiently, and I will do everything within my power to ensure that it does.
A home is more than a structure. It is dignity. It is security. It is hope. And hope must never be stolen.
A Home Is More Than Four Walls. It Is A Right That Is Enshrined In Our Constitution
There are few things more painful than looking into the eyes of a mother who has spent decades on a government housing waiting list while watching someone else occupy the home that was meant for her family. It is a pain I have witnessed too often. It is the pain of broken promises, stolen opportunities and a system that has, for far too long, failed the very people it was created to serve.
A government-funded house is not a privilege reserved for the connected or the corrupt. It is a constitutional commitment to restore dignity to South Africans who have lived through poverty, overcrowding and generations of inequality. When that commitment is abused, it is not simply a policy failure, it is a betrayal of every law-abiding citizen who has waited patiently and honestly for a place to call home.
For this reason, ActionSA welcomes the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements’ decision to evict unlawful occupants from government funded houses. It is a necessary affirmation that the rule of law still matters and that public resources cannot be captured without consequence.
This is not about targeting vulnerable people or creating division. It is about restoring fairness. It is about ensuring that government housing reaches those who qualify for it under South African law. Every illegally occupied house represents a deserving family that continues to wait. Every fraudulent allocation deepens public mistrust and fuels the belief that honesty no longer pays.
For years, corruption has poisoned housing allocation processes. Syndicates, officials and politically connected individuals have manipulated beneficiary lists while ordinary residents watched their dreams disappear. Some government houses have even been unlawfully rented out for profit, turning a public asset into a private business while legitimate beneficiaries remain trapped in informal settlements, backyard shacks and overcrowded family homes.
This cannot continue. As Johannesburg’s MMC for Human Settlements, I will not accept a housing system where corruption determines who gets a home. My responsibility will be to restore integrity to every stage of the housing allocation process.
I will ensure that beneficiary databases are properly audited, transparent and regularly updated. Every allocation must withstand public scrutiny. Every allegation of fraud must be investigated thoroughly, and where officials are implicated, disciplinary and criminal processes must follow without fear or favour.
I will work closely with law enforcement agencies to ensure that unlawfully occupied government houses are recovered through lawful processes and returned to qualifying beneficiaries. The rule of law must apply consistently, because selective enforcement only encourages further abuse.
But enforcement alone is not enough. We must dramatically improve the delivery of housing. We must remove unnecessary bureaucratic delays that leave projects incomplete for years. We must ensure that land earmarked for housing is protected from illegal occupation while accelerating the construction.
Communities themselves must also become active partners in protecting public resources. That is why I strongly support residents who come forward to report corruption, fraudulent allocations and unlawful occupation. Silence only protects those who continue to steal from the poor.
Every report deserves proper investigation. Every whistleblower deserves to know that their voice matters.
For me, this issue has never been about politics. It is about justice.
Housing is where children grow up. It is where families build memories. It is where elderly parents find security after a lifetime of hard work. To deny someone that opportunity through corruption or illegal occupation is to rob them of far more than bricks and mortar, it is to rob them of dignity, stability and hope.
Johannesburg deserves a Human Settlements Department that people can trust again. A department that serves residents rather than syndicates. A department where transparency replaces secrecy, accountability replaces corruption and fairness replaces favouritism.
That is the commitment I make to every resident still waiting for a place to call home.
The waiting list should never become a life sentence because someone else chose to break the law. Government must honour its promise to those who have waited patiently, and I will do everything within my power to ensure that it does.
A home is more than a structure. It is dignity. It is security. It is hope. And hope must never be stolen.