Minister, release the audit of Cape Town Community Housing Company!
The following media statement was released by Right2Know Western Cape:
The residents of Newfields Village in conjunction with eight other villages are demanding access to an audit of the low-cost housing provided by the Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC). It is believed that this audit, conducted by the Auditor-General in November 2010, will reveal if the condition and cost of houses match up to what residents were promised by the CTCHC.
On 24 May 2011, Newfields Village submitted a formal request in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) to the Director General of the National Department of Human Settlements for access to the AG’s report. To date, we have received no reply from the Department. On 14 June 2011, Newfields Village residents approached the Cape Town Community Housing Company itself demanding access to the audit. To date, we have received no reply from the Company.
Section 27 of PAIA says that failure to respond within 30 days is the same as refusal to disclose the information requested. As a result, an attorney at the Open Democracy Advice Centre has submitted a Notice of Internal Appeal to Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale on behalf of the Newfields Village residents. In terms of PAIA, Minister Sexwale has until 14 August 2011 to consider the request for access to the AG’s report.
In the meantime, residents of these villages are being served with eviction notices by CTCHC.
The Right2Know campaign calls on these bodies to release this report now!
For comment please contact:
Gary Hartzenberg: 072 392 5859
Newfields Village CRC Chairperson / R2K Western Cape working group
Andre Nicholas: 072 758 3435
Newfields Village CRC coordinator
Nkwame Cedile: 078 227 6008
R2K Western Cape coordinator
For more information about the audit of Cape Town Community Housing and residents’ frustration, see this report.
About the Right2Know’s InfoAccessNow programme:
The campaign against the Secrecy Bill forms the backdrop of broader struggles for transparency within the private and public sectors in South Africa. Access to information is central to service delivery: a responsive and accountable democracy able to meet the basic needs of our people is built on transparency and the free flow of information.
In April 2011 the Right2Know campaign Western Cape hosted a series of public meetings in communities across Cape Town to find out what challenges they were experiencing with access to information. What we heard is that many communities are struggling with secrecy on a daily basis – they want access to basic information that concerns their livelihood. A number of community organisations are now working within Right2Know to get access to that information.
