The Matlosana Catalytic Project in the North West is on the brink of collapse as the contractor and government are at loggerheads over payments and the cancellation of the contract.
When Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane visited the Matlosana N12 West Catalytic Project in 2025, officials emerged from the meeting with assurances. Governance failures would be addressed. Project structures would be revived. Construction would resume.
More than a year later, the people of Ward 15 are still waiting for houses promised to them in 2023. At Matlosana Estates Extension 10, construction has stalled. The contractor has been served with a termination notice. Residents have been called into meetings and told, once again, to be patient.
Nearly every official with authority to explain the project's collapse has declined to answer questions. The documents, however, paint a damning picture: repeated payment failures by the North West Department of Human Settlements, contractual obligations being ignored, invoices left unpaid for months, and a subsidy system error known to officials for years that has never been corrected.
The Matlosana N12 West Catalytic Project was conceived as one of the North West province's flagship human settlements developments, with at least R4.2 billion earmarked for its completion.
