R608 million spent on a hostel which remains incomplete with hundreds of units empty

The G-Hostel Redevelopment Project in Thabong Extension 3, Welkom, is a disaster which has consumed R632 million but remains incomplete.

The G-Hostel Redevelopment Project is a high-profile public housing development in the Free State.

The project is aimed at converting apartheid-era single-sex mining hostels into modern Community Residential Units (CRUs) for low-income families.

The project was launched in 2014 by the Free State Department of Human Settlements and has become one of the province’s worst public-expenditure scandals.

The G-Hostel project has cost R608 million to date. This is triple its original budget, but it is only 67% complete.

Hundreds of finished units have been left empty due to the department’s failure to provide basic sewer and power infrastructure.

The Free State Department of Human Settlements has requested a further R401 million to complete the remaining units.

This is not the only project which has been bungled by the department. The Silver City in Mangaung is an equally big mess.

The project has consumed R632 million, with completion now dependent on a further R220 million in unfunded costs.

The average cost per unit in these projects has soared to over R1 million, much higher than initially anticipated.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) said that the G-Hostel and the Dark and Silver City redevelopment have become graveyards for public money.

It added that this goes beyond incompetence. “It is a destructive cycle of politically connected or underperforming contractors,” it said.

“Some have ties to the governing ANC, are repeatedly appointed, fail to deliver, and walk away with millions.”

“Sites are abandoned, vandalised, and stripped, only for new contractors to be paid again to repair the damage.”

It questioned why the companies responsible for this poor performance are not blacklisted, prosecuted, or compelled to repay what they have squandered.

“This is a betrayal of public trust and a violation of the right to decent housing,” the DA said in a press statement.