KZN military veterans finally have a place to call home
Some of the military veterans in and around uMgungundlovu District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal will now have a place called home. This follows yesterday’s handover of twelve housing units - the first batch out of a total of 32 units - to qualifying and verified military veterans.
During a Ministerial Visit to hand over the units on Monday, the Deputy Minister of Human Settlements Pam Tshwete, emphasized that the department remains committed to building houses for all the military veterans. She commended the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Human Settlements for securing enough sites to enable the construction of other units including for BNG beneficiaries.
“We must clear the military veterans housing backlog once and for all. This is possible. We should work towards this objective. At the end, we will look back with pride having given back to our military veterans who sacrificed so much for the freedom we all enjoy today”, said Deputy Minister Tshwete.
The building of new homes for military veterans is a joint responsibility between the Departments of Human Settlements and Military Veterans, with the latter responsible for verification and additional financial resources.
Deputy Minister Tshwete acknowledged that the past invasion of flats at Aloe Ridge had some challenges, but a common solution was found amongst all affected stakeholders, leading to some military veterans voluntarily returning keys to management. However, others had to remain at Aloe Ridge while the construction of their new homes progressed, due to various circumstances including destitute cases.
This sentiment was echoed by the MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, Sipho Nkosi, who has directed the officials and contractors to work around the clock to speedily deliver the houses for military veterans.
“There is no country in the world that does not look after its military veterans. By the end of this financial year (March 2024), I want to report that all affected military veterans are housed and have keys in their hands”, said MEC Nkosi. “When you finish building a house, hand it over to the beneficiary. This is the position we have taken. We are not going to wait for the projects to be fully completed before we give houses to the people. We hand them over as we continue to build for others”, he said.
The Mayor of Umshwati Local Municipality, Cllr Mandla Zondi extended a warm welcome to the first group of military veterans allocated houses in the area. “We felt privileged as the municipality to be home to some of our military veterans, Umshwati is part of South Africa and Umgungungundlovu District. When they fought for freedom, they did not fight for their townships or areas where they came from, but they fought for everyone in the country”, he said.
The housing handover was also used to announce five companies that have been appointed to help the province accelerate service delivery in Msunduzi and Umshwati Local Municipalities. The scope of work for these companies includes top structures and engineering services. They have been given a clear mandate to finish their work within twelve months, within a set budget, while not compromising on quality.
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