Correspondent
The Northern Cape MEC of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs Bentley Vass said the provincial government is concerned about the ‘illegal occupation’ of land in the province. Vass spoke with Roma Nna on the sidelines of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s launch of a R1 billion housing project in Kimberley.
The Northern Cape has a backlog of 80,000 houses and 162 informal settlements. The Provincial government acknowledges that thousands of residents need proper housing. However, it discourages people from illegally occupying land, derailing the government’s plans to build houses speedily.
“We agree that there is a serious challenge regarding people’s lack of houses or land. Since the municipalities have BY-LAWS, they should help us deal with the issue. There is a process to follow,” said Vass.
“The challenge is that land is in private hands. Therefore, we have to look at the issue of land transformation. However, we are not encouraging the mushrooming of informal settlements; we are responsible for giving houses to our people,” the MEC said.
“We currently have over 18000 serviced sites ready for the development of top structures, so for this project, we will focus on top structures for Kimberley and all our districts.”
Vass said his department is aware of the challenges faced by many communities that share taps and toilets and added that they are doing all they can to address those challenges speedily.
Meanwhile, Minister of Human Settlement Mmamoloko Kubayi echoed Vass’s sentiments, stating that illegal occupation prevents the government from providing decent houses. Kubayi said the R1 billion project is a milestone for the Northern Cape.
The Northern Cape provincial government has sought a R600 million loan from the Development Bank of South Africa to supplement its baseline grant allocation for housing.
“Northern Cape has not been able to build many houses. Over time, there have been 18000 serviced sites, but this is bulk infrastructure with regards to water, electricity, and sanitation. This project will help to close the gap in terms of top structures in those serviced sites that have been done over the years,” said the Minister.
Kubayi urged the private and business sectors to assist the government in providing houses.
Comments are closed.