Statement by the Office of Deputy President Paul Mashatile on the Daggafontein Mega Project

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has noted the untruthful and libellous video recording by Mr. Martin Nel alleging that R10 billion meant for the Daggafontein Mega Project was defrauded by the so-called "Alex Mafia" during the Deputy President's tenure as Gauteng Province MEC for Human Settlements.

In his eagerness to spread untruths and thereby tarnish the image of the Deputy President, Mr Nel ignored some pertinent facts about the Daggafontein Mega Project. For starters, it was part of 15 land parcels identified for mega housing projects in 2016 and intended to yield 18 000 units. A developer, Rodesh was appointed as Turnkey Developer.

Secondly, as is common practice, the local government authority - in this instance the City of Ekurhuleni - was responsible for the provision of bulk services. The City appointed an independent service provider for this purpose. The cost of work done was paid for by the City of Ekurhuleni.

However, construction was delayed pending the installation of bulk infrastructure. The Department of Human Settlements nevertheless budgeted funds (which it could not spend due to lack of bulk infrastructure) for several years. Mr. Nel either misunderstood this or did not want the facts to interfere in his attempt to tarnish the reputation of the Deputy President.

Lastly, those who took the moral stand and risked everything to fight apartheid have lived with a persistent post-apartheid counterattack which casts aspersions on efforts to redress the legacy of colonialism and apartheid, amongst other ways by criminalising political leaders on supposedly moral grounds.

Media enquiries: Mr Keith Khoza, Acting Spokesperson to the Deputy President on 066 195 8840

Issued by: The Presidency
Pretoria