Emily Lepota: Free State RDP House Unfinished for 12 Years

• Emily Lepota, 62, lives in a shack in Morolong, Free State, despite her RDP house being marked complete on the housing system.
• Her allocated house, intended to replace one destroyed by a 2009 tornado, remains half-built since 2012, lacking a roof and windows.
• The Zondo Commission previously identified a R1-billion housing project in the Free State as a "dismal failure" due to widespread corruption and mismanagement.
• Department officials confirmed Lepota's house is listed as completed on December 4, 2009, and is not on their list of incomplete properties.
• Following inquiries, department officials visited Lepota's site and assured her that her housing issue would be addressed.

For Emily Lepota, the dream of a secure home remains an unfulfilled promise, underscoring the profound human cost of administrative oversight and past corruption.

For sixteen years, 62-year-old Emily Lepota has resided in a two-room shack in Morolong, a community situated east of Bloemfontein. This prolonged hardship persists despite her official allocation of an RDP house, a fact seemingly contradicted by the Housing Subsidy System, which records her property as complete and handed over. However, a recent visit revealed the structure to be merely half-built, conspicuously lacking a roof and windows, a state it has maintained since 2012.

Lepota's original home was destroyed by a mini tornado in 2009, prompting the Free State Department of Human Settlements to initiate a project aimed at replacing damaged residences, including hers. Construction commenced in 2011, but according to Lepota, it abruptly ceased the following year. The contractor, identified only as Mr. Tshabalala, reportedly informed her that funds were no longer available to continue the work, leaving the house in its current unfinished state. This administrative oversight means that while the system indicates completion on December 4, 2009, the physical reality is starkly different.

Life in the shack is fraught with challenges for Lepota and the seven other individuals who share the space. During periods of rain, water infiltrates through the roof, disrupting their sleep and comfort. The household lacks formal employment, relying on Lepota's old age grant, her grandchild's child support grant, and her son's Social Relief of Distress grant as their primary sources of income. Basic amenities are also scarce, with the family depending on a communal standpipe in the yard for water and a pit toilet for sanitation.

Lepota's predicament is not an isolated incident but rather a symptom of a much larger systemic issue rooted in widespread corruption and government housing project mismanagement within the Free State's provincial housing department. The housing project intended to benefit Lepota was launched during a period notorious for such malfeasance. Investigations later uncovered instances where officials disbursed millions of rands to suppliers even before any construction work had begun, highlighting significant South Africa housing subsidy system fraud.

The Zondo Commission, tasked with investigating state capture, thoroughly examined these irregularities. It ultimately declared the R1-billion housing drive a "dismal failure" and deemed its operations unlawful. This period of rampant corruption led to the conviction of the department's head at the time. The cumulative effect of this corruption and mismanagement resulted in at least 20,000 RDP houses remaining unfinished across the province, with many more, like Emily Lepota's unfinished RDP house Free State, erroneously marked as complete on official records, thereby obscuring the true scale of the problem.

When questioned about Lepota's case, department spokesperson Zimasa Mbewu confirmed that the Housing Subsidy System indeed registers the house as completed on December 4, 2009. Mbewu further stated that the property does not appear on the official list of incomplete houses, underscoring the bureaucratic disconnect between records and reality. She also provided figures on the department's efforts to address outstanding projects, noting that approximately 450 incomplete houses were finalized in the 2025/26 financial year, with an additional 532 slated for completion this year.

Following inquiries into Lepota's specific situation, Mbewu later informed that officials had visited her site and provided assurances that she would not be overlooked in future housing initiatives. Despite these recent promises, for Emily Lepota, the dream of a secure home remains an unfulfilled promise, underscoring the profound human cost of administrative oversight and past corruption. Her heartfelt wish is simply to have a proper house for her children and grandchildren before her lifetime concludes, a desire that encapsulates the ongoing struggle faced by countless beneficiaries impacted by the Free State Human Settlements RDP corruption.

This case highlights the ongoing legal and compliance risks for the Department of Human Settlements regarding unfulfilled RDP housing promises due to historical corruption and systemic mismanagement. Lawyers should be aware of potential avenues for public interest litigation or individual claims for specific performance or damages on behalf of beneficiaries whose houses are marked complete but remain unfinished, while compliance officers should scrutinize public sector project oversight and procurement processes to prevent similar fraud and maladministration.

Source: Original reporting via GroundUp