Not a single title deed out of 8,433 was handed over to elderly beneficiaries in the Eastern Cape during the 2017/2018 financial year.
About 612 beneficiaries are yet to receive their title deeds in the 2018/2019 financial year.
This is despite the provincial government having spent more than R1bn on a title deeds restoration project since 2016.
The shocking revelation is detailed in a written response from human settlements MEC Mlungisi Mvoko to DA MPL Sanele Magaqa in August.
According to the response, only 16 title deeds were handed over to the elderly in the 2016/2017 financial year.
Magaqa described the figures as sheer neglect.
“Without a title deed, beneficiaries do not have any legal claim to their property.
“It is unacceptable that the programme is failing the people who need it the most.”
In Nelson Mandela Bay, the provincial department managed to build 194 units for elderly people and one house for disabled people since the 2016/2017 financial year until July 31 2018.
Of these, only 16 people received title deeds.