Question NW649 to the Minister of Human Settlements
11 April 2016 - NW649
Mokause, Ms MO to ask the Minister of Human Settlements
(1)With reference to a certain person (name and details furnished) from Ventersdorp in Ward 6 who applied and was approved for a housing subsidy but had her building material taken away after it was delivered because her ID number was linked to two beneficiaries, what is the process of verification of ID numbers when a subsidy is linked to two beneficiaries; (2) is a certain councillor (name furnished) allowed to sell RDP housing subsidy material?
Reply:
(1) A verification search against the Housing Subsidy System (HSS) as at 13 March 2016, indicates that the person referred to by the Honourable Member does not appear as a subsidy applicant or as an approved beneficiary of a state housing subsidy on the HSS. The North West Provincial Department of Human Settlements has since confirmed this finding. This implies that a subsidy application for the ID number provided was not captured on HSS to date or a subsidy application was not completed by the person or household to access a government housing subsidy.
In terms of the verification of ID numbers when processing applications for housing subsidies, there are set Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that are followed before an application is captured on the system before being approved to benefit from a housing subsidy. A subsidy is linked to a household (applicant and / or spouse) and a specific site. The ID numbers (applicant/spouse/dependants) indicated on a subsidy application form is captured on HSS against a specific site number as contained in the deed of sale and specific project.
The captured application is then verified to ensure that the details on the application form have been captured correctly on HSS. The verified application is then submitted for searches via an automated process on the ID against other databases including the Population Register in the Dept. of Home Affairs, and the Deeds Register, in the Department of Rural Development and Land Reform, as well as the Department Audit Database to ensure that the applicant did not previously benefit from a state housing subsidy.
The application is tagged for approval only if it passes all the aforementioned verification and search processes.
(2) In respect of the alleged selling of housing subsidy material by the named councillor, the Department of Human Settlements views such activity in a serious light, and will investigate and take appropriate steps based on the findings when the full and exact details, including documentary or other evidence relating to such activity are provided and obtained by the Department.