Marapong housing project to finish by year-end after a decade of delays
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Limpopo's human settlements department says the 514-unit Marapong Community Residential Units project in Lephalale will be completed before the end of the year, with only Eskom electricity connections outstanding, a decade after construction began.
The long-delayed Marapong Community Residential Units project in Lephalale, Limpopo, will be completed before the end of the year, the provincial Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (Coghsta) has said.
Departmental spokesperson Tsakane Baloyi told The Citizen that all units are complete and the department is waiting for Eskom to connect electricity. The project consists of 150 blocks with 514 units, including four blocks for people living with disabilities.
Baloyi said R30 million was initially allocated for construction in 2025-26, with another R10 million provided in 2026-27, forming part of the province's R866 million spending on housing construction in the 2026-27 financial year. Former MEC Rodgers Basikopo Makamu, now MEC for agriculture and rural development, said more than 400 title deeds were handed over in Marapong Extension 4 while oversight visits pushed contractors to complete the work.
Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane said in a parliamentary reply that the development, which began during former president Jacob Zuma's second term, would be completed during the 2025-26 financial year. She was responding to a question from EFF MP Mandisa Makesini about the lack of progress amid allegations of corruption involving officials and service providers.
Simelane attributed the delays to "a combination of systemic, operational, and external challenges", citing community unrest among SMMEs demanding inclusion in civil works, underperformance by the principal agent that led to termination and replacement, payment delays to SMMEs and local labour, the Covid-19 lockdown and seasonal flooding. She also listed relocation of existing dwellers, demolition of asbestos-containing structures, encroachment by informal dwellings, delays in NHBRC enrolment and up to six changes of principal agents.
On the corruption allegations contained in a forensic report that has not been made public, the minister said her department takes them seriously and that internal processes are being followed. "The department remains committed to ensuring accountability and consequence management where wrongdoing is established," she said. Baloyi said she was not aware of corruption allegations involving the department or service providers, attributing some delays to Covid-19 and floods, and said the department is holding weekly meetings to monitor the project. She said it would be completed before the end of the 2026 financial year.