The days of contractors abandoning government housing projects are over and people invading private properties must come to an end. Those were the tough words by Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi during a community engagement at Dan Tloome, Rand West Local Municipality.
Minister Kubayi’s tough stance on lawlessness comes as qualifying beneficiaries complain about not being allocated houses, while their houses are being invaded. “We are acting against invaders of private properties. Please do us a favour and move out of a house or property that does not belong to you”, said Minister Kubayi.
Regarding the projects that have not been completed on time, Minister Kubayi warned contractors that the days of not completing work on time and within budget are over, saying this has cost the government millions on the already limited resources, thus denying people of their constitutional rights of access to adequate housing.
“My appeal to all contractors, please help us to hand over finished houses to beneficiaries. If you are subcontracting, please do the work. My mandate is to deliver a finished house,” said the Minister.
MEC for Human Settlements and Infrastructure Development, Lebogang Maile, also issued a stern warning to the poor-performing contractors, saying “their actions work against government’s commitment to provide housing for the poor”.
“We can not have a contractor that fails to deliver and still be kept onsite. The resources we use belong to the people and must be used for their benefits, nothing else”, said MEC Maile.
While this development is a step in the right direction, Minister Kubayi is adamant that there should not even be a single project that is delayed or blocked due to contractors not honouring their contractual obligations.
Before a community engagement where title deeds were issued to several beneficiaries, Minister Kubayi together with MEC MaileMaile and the City of Johannesburg Mayor, Cllr Kabelo Gwamanda launched two social housing projects.
The Ekhaya Gardens, with a total of 333 units, is close to Roodepoort Central Business District, whilst Fochville Social Housing, with a capacity of 258 units, is strategically placed within the mining and industrial sectors of the greater West Rand Municipality.
The two social housing projects will provide much-needed decent, and affordable rental accommodation to people earning between R1850 and R22 000 per month. The launch of these projects comes a few days after the successful launch of Townlands in Tshwane, the current largest social housing project in the country with 1200 units.
Between 2019 and 2024, the Department of Human Settlements through its agency, the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), has managed to deliver over 13 000 units resulting in close to 50 000 rental and affordable units delivered over the years.
Media Enquiries:
Hlengiwe Nhlabathi-Mokota, Spokesperson for Ministry of Human Settlements on 064 754 8426 or Nozipho Zulu, Head of Communications at 078 457 9376
