Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has called on the department to work with law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute criminals who sell RDP houses.

This after it was revealed to the committee that RDP houses are being sold at the Savanna City mega project in Midvaal, Gauteng, according to a TimesLIVE report.

The committee is on an oversight visit to Gauteng this week to assess implementation of targets.

‘We cannot continue to turn a blind eye to this perennial problem of illegality where criminal elements exploit the desperation caused by the longing for security of tenure among South Africans,’ committee chair Machwene Semenya said yesterday.

‘These people are extorting the poor who are forced to approach loan sharks to get money to access housing. These criminals must be brought to book through collaboration between police, the department and communities. The community must be aware that a house bought illegally would not be beneficial in the long-term, as the buyer will not receive a title deed to an illegally purchased house. Buying these houses will lead to financial loss.’

The committee has asked the municipality, the Department of Human Settlements and police to implement measures to arrest the perpetrators and to report to the committee on progress and plans to stop this illegality.

The committee has also called for strategies to eliminate exposing title deed beneficiaries to risk.

Full TimesLIVE report