By Bhekizenzo Zonele
A planned mega housing development in Gauteng remains stalled before construction, despite about R430 million having been paid to LTE Consulting, prompting Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements to demand answers about the project’s readiness, approvals and use of public funds.
The Syferfontein Mega City development, southwest of Soweto, has been stalled for about a decade.
Lesedi Technical Engineering Consulting, formerly known as LTE Consulting and owned by Thulani Majola, was appointed to work on the project.
The committee heard an update from Gauteng MEC for Human Settlements on the inquiry into the Syferfontein Mega City Housing Project on Wednesday, including questions about the R430 million paid to LTE and the financial management of the Gauteng Partnership Fund.
The project covers about 3,500 hectares and was planned as a large mixed-use development in the West Rand, with more than 60,000 potential housing units, as well as commercial, retail and social facilities.
However, construction has yet to begin.
The City of Johannesburg informed the committee that LTE had not contacted the relevant landowner or requested the power of attorney required to proceed with the township establishment process.
Committee member Thulani Gamede questioned why substantial payments had been made when critical conditions for the project had not been secured.
“That is not a contractor who underperformed. That is a department that paid for a precondition, which on the city’s account was never pursued,” Gamede said.
The committee was also told that township establishment and environmental approvals were among the prerequisites in the project’s readiness process.
Questions were raised about whether some of these approvals had since lapsed and who was responsible for allowing them to expire.
The site falls within the jurisdictions of Rand West City and the City of Johannesburg.
The Gauteng government attributed some of the delays to an administrative backlog involving powers of attorney.
“Every month this matter is deferred is a month measured in families still without a home,” Gamede said.
The Syferfontein investigation comes amid broader questions about LTE’s work on Gauteng housing projects.
Since 2014, LTE has received more than R938 million for more than 25 housing projects in Gauteng, according to information presented to the committee.
Projects including Diepsloot East, Simunye Extension 2 and Bikoville were cited in earlier reports. LTE has disputed payments relating to some of the projects.
LTE has also previously been linked to the Sweetwaters/Kanana Park 6 housing development south of Johannesburg, where it was appointed for water and sewer reticulation serving 2,689 stands.
The appointment was investigated following concerns about procurement and the subsequent appointment of Khato Civils to carry out much of the work.
The committee also examined Nonkwelo Investments, owned by Nceba Nonkwelo, who is married to Palesa Mashatile, the daughter of Deputy President Paul Mashatile.
Nonkwelo Investments secured a loan from the Gauteng Partnership Fund for a project that was not fulfilled.
The fund said it had pursued recovery processes involving land provided as security.
The department said the recovery process had been under way since 2020.
For Syferfontein, the immediate questions remain who was responsible for the lapsed approvals, why substantial public funds were spent before the project was ready to proceed, and how much of the money, if any, can still be recovered.
The committee is expected to continue pressing the Gauteng Partnership Fund and the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements for answers and accountability.
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