The Free State provincial government has been censured by Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka for allocating an RDP house to the incorrect Mangaung resident as part of an ANC election campaign in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s presence.

At the time of the allocation in April 2022, then Free State premier Sisi Ntombela announced the handover of the R130 000 Hillside View RDP house as part of the ANC’s Letsema campaign ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections.

Gcaleka found that there was a conflation between state and political party and the use of state resources to advance the ANC’s interests was substantiated, following a complaint by DA Free State leader Dr Roy Jankielsohn.

She said Ntombela’s conduct was improper in terms of the Constitution and amounted to maladministration as contemplated in the Public Protector Act.

According to the report, Ramaphosa attended the launch of the Letsema campaign, and on the morning of the event he, in Ntombela’s presence, handed over the keys of the Hillside View House to the recipient and the RDP house was paid for by the provincial government.

Ntombela had approached officials of the Department of Human Settlements to obtain a donation from a private donor to rebuild a Freedom Square house, which was supposed to be handed over during the launch of the Letsema campaign.

Instead, the Hillside View house was handed over by Ramaphosa and Ntombela, but the department had approved the Hillside View house for a different beneficiary and the person handed the house had not been approved.

Gcaleka found that the ANC beneficiary was approved for the area of Freedom Square but no house had yet been built for allocation to her.

The ANC beneficiary is currently residing in a house that she is not legally entitled to, as the title deed for the Hillside View house is under the name of the original beneficiary.

She said any official process for the handing over of the keys of a government-funded house was supposed to take place under the auspices and authority of the provincial government and not a party-political event.

"The handing over of the keys to the Hillside View house … was paid for by the Free State Department of Human Settlements during the Letsema campaign, marketed on the ANC Free State social media post and other media reports to advance the interests of the ANC, resulted in a conflation between state and party," Gcaleka explained.

The Public Protector also found that Ntombela’s conduct and role in facilitating the handing over of the Hillside View house as part of ANC political campaigning was in violation of the Constitution and the November 2016 Free State policy on separation of state and party activities, and that it constituted improper conduct in terms of the Constitution and maladministration according to the Public Protector Act.

Gcaleka cleared Ramaphosa, finding that he was invited by Ntombela only on the morning of the launch of the Letsema campaign to hand over the keys of a house.

"He (Ramaphosa) was neither aware that the handing over of a house would take place during the Letsema campaign, nor did he have knowledge that the house was paid for by the provincial government, as he was informed that he would be handing over a house paid for by a private donor," she explained in her findings.

Current Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae has been given three months to table the report before the provincial legislature for deliberation in order to sensitise MECs to their obligations in terms of the Constitution and the policy.

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Human Settlements MEC Saki Mokoena also has three months in terms of the Housing Act to ensure that the head of Human Settlements Department, advocate Tumelo Phahlo, undertakes the necessary processes to rectify the incorrect allocation of the house.

In addition, Phahlo has four months in terms of the Housing Act to rectify the incorrect allocation of the house to reflect the details of the rightful owners in line with the Deed Registries Act as promised in a meeting held with Gcaleka’s investigation team in February this year.

Cape Times