ActionSA rejects human settlements dept's budget
ActionSA said it could not support the human settlements department budget out of principle and not just because Minister Thembi Simelane faces corruption allegations.
FILE: Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane during debate on the budget of the department in Parliament on 2 July 2025. Picture: Parliament/Zwelethemba Kostile
CAPE TOWN - ActionSA said it could not support the human settlements department budget out of principle and not just because Minister Thembi Simelane faces corruption allegations.
The party said the department had also failed to provide adequate housing for South Africans.
The party also accused the Democratic Alliance (DA) of backtracking for supporting corruption in Simelane’s department budget.
The DA voted in favour of the human settlement’s budget after initially threatening to reject it unless the president acted against Cabinet members accused of wrongdoing.
Simelane stands accused of allegedly taking out a R575,600 loan from the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank to purchase a Sandton coffee shop.
ActionSA MP Lerato Ngobeni said that her party remained concerned that Simelane still had a dark cloud hanging over her.
"We reject budget vote 33, not because of who occupies the office of the minister, although it is deeply concerning that Minister Simelane is under investigation for a questionable VBS-related loan, but because the budget fails to honour the dignity of millions of South Africans still waiting for a place to call home."