Province
25 July 2006
Mafikeng: The Department of Developmental Local Government and Housing will
launch a programme that is aimed at completing all the housing projects that
were left unfinished in the province since 1995. The event will take place at
Taung sports ground on Saturday, 29 July, starting from 10h00.
The North West is the first province to come up with a comprehensive
programme to address housing projects that were abandoned by the contractors as
far back as eleven years ago. There are about 70 such projects in the North
West alone and it is estimated that there are more than 300 such projects
throughout the country.
Among other reasons that led to the projects being stalled were the delays
in the completion of the environmental impact assessment, delays in obtaining
tribal land release from the Department of Land Affairs, delays in
geo-technical reports and escalation of costs.
Spokesperson for the department, Mandla Mathebula, said almost twenty of
these projects have already been unblocked, which means new contractors have
been appointed to complete the projects or the factors that led to the projects
being stalled have been addressed. These projects are expected to be completed
soon.
âOur intention is to unblock all these projects so that we continue to
deliver houses on a clean slateâ, said Mathebula.
Mathebula said the department had decided to launch the programme in Taung
because the area had more than one formerly blocked project that have been
unblocked and are ready to be handed over to the beneficiaries.
âWe want to launch the programme by handing over the projects that have
already been unblocked,â he said.
He said the success registered by the department in housing delivery last
year has given his department hope that the province is capable of fulfilling
this mandate. The department managed to spend 99,6% of its housing fund to
deliver almost 15 000 houses, thus becoming the best performing department in
housing delivery in the country.
âNow that we have managed to put the delivery machinery back on track, we
want to ensure that we address all the past mistakes. The issue of incomplete
projects is one of those challenges that we feel must be addressed as a matter
of urgency,â said Mathebula.
He said that among the projects to be handed over on Saturday were Taung
extension 6, Pudumoe, Ba-ga Maidi and the Reivilo hostel redevelopment project.
Premier Edna Molewa and the housing minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, are expected to
grace the occasion.
Issued by: Department of Developmental Local Government and Housing, North
West Provincial Government
25 July 2006
