Eastern Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Ms Helen Sauls-August has announced that the department will provide hands on support to all municipalities and Traditional Leaders in the province as from April this year.
The support will include amongst other things capacitating councillors, Chiefs on by laws on Human Settlements laws and on Social Housing Policy.
“The department has engaged the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University towards developing an accredited Short Learning Programme for municipal and provincial officials, councillors and Traditional Leaders on sustainable human settlements programmes. This structured programme targeting human settlements practitioners will ensure skills development in policies, processes and systems in the housing delivery value chain. This is seeking to enhance the Bachelor’s Degree on Human Settlements that commenced in 2014 in NMMU,” said MEC Helen Sauls-August.
The department will in the new financial year ensure that all municipal officials are trained on housing needs registers with the aim of ensuring that Municipality Housing Needs Registers are established and constantly updated. The department has taken over the Beneficiary Administration function in all municipalities in Joe Gqabi district. The model to emerge out of the Joe Gqabi intervention will, in future, be replicated to other municipalities with an ailing beneficiary administration function.
Lwandile Sicwetsha( Mr), Director: Corporate Communications
Tel:+27 (0) 43 711 9679
E-mail: lwandiles@ecdhs.gov.za
