Political party ActionSA has laid criminal charges with the South African Police Service (SAPS) concerning the scandal-ridden Boipatong Old Age Home project, a publicly-funded facility that stands incomplete, vandalised, and unusable despite an expenditure of over R28 million in taxpayer funds.
The party’s provincial chairperson, Funzi Ngobeni, revealed the details in a televised interview, explaining that the decision to approach the police followed an official oversight visit and a series of written questions put to the Premier’s office.
According to Ngobeni, the Premier’s written responses under oath were the catalyst for the criminal complaint. The replies allegedly confirmed that while R28 million of an initially approved R44 million budget had been spent, the government could only account for R13 million of that amount.
“The rest of the money they can’t account for, but it has been paid to whoever. So we are asking the police to investigate and get to the bottom of it,” stated Ngobeni. “We need to recover the money that has been lost.”
The project, which was initiated around 2015, was intended to be a state-of-the-art facility providing care, safety, and dignity for the elderly residents of Boipatong. Instead, the intended beneficiaries are currently being housed in the garages of “good Samaritans” in the community.
Ngobeni identified the main contractors as JM Wango Trading and Makgotamishe Building Construction. He raised serious concerns about the procurement process, suggesting the companies may have lacked the necessary competence from the start, as one contractor was terminated for failure to deliver.
“We need to be investigated… that officials didn’t give contractors who do not have capacity a big contract like this one,” he said, calling for all procurement documents to be made available to investigators to determine “who authorised what, who signed off on which documents.”
In a significant development, Ngobeni reported that the local SAPS station deemed the case “too big” for them and has handed the investigation over to the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, known as the Hawks. ActionSA has also pledged to report the matter to the Public Protector and will engage the Premier to refer it for investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to facilitate the recovery of lost funds.
Complicating the matter further, the project faces a new hurdle: the recent discovery of a Sasol gas pipeline near the construction site, which has forced a suspension of planning due to safety concerns. Ngobeni questioned how this was missed by the numerous paid professionals, including civil engineers and town planners, calling it a “mystery” as the pipeline was visible in 2015.
ActionSA has vowed to pursue the matter “to the end,” emphasizing the profound injustice faced by the elderly community of Boipatong who continue to wait for a home that was promised nearly a decade ago.