A resolution to revive the housing consumer education steering committee was adopted by municipal housing officials and Community Development Workers (CDWs) in the Bojanala Platinum District in the North West Province. The decision was taken at the wrap up of the two-day workshop hosted by the North West Department of Human Settlements, Public Safety & Liaison at Orion Hotel in Rustenburg on Friday.
The committee is expected to raise awareness on housing issues through housing consumer education community outreach programmes in all five local municipalities across the district.
The collaboration will also create a platform for municipal housing officials' and CDW's to discuss and assist each other in resolving housing related challenges they are faced with within their respective municipalities.
Comprising of two representatives per local municipality, the Steering Committee is the first to be revived in the province. The committees to coordinate and share experiences around housing related matters were officially established in all four districts across the province during the 2006/07 financial year but were never effective.
The revival of the district steering committee will culminate into the launch of the Provincial Housing Consumer Education Steering Committee.
The main objective for the two-day municipal housing officials' and CDW's workshop was to ensure that they are also on board in terms of the department's mandate of ensuring that everyone has access to adequate housing as stipulated in section 26 of the South African Constitution.
This will be attested by a number of information sessions they will arrange to empower housing consumers and communities at large on their rights and concomitant responsibilities, understanding the value of houses, implications of signing "happy letters", and failure to occupy houses for which housing subsidy was granted.
Enquiries:
Lesiba Moses Kgwele
Tel: 018 391 0140
Cell: 083 629 1987
Fax: 018 381 0328
E-mail: LKgwele@nwpg.gov.za
