Thembi Simelane, Minister of Human Settlements, has called on MECs of Human Settlements, Metropolitan Mayors, and Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs) to take advantage of the Expropriation Act and take over the abandoned and hijacked inner-city buildings and repurpose them for affordable housing.

Addressing her first meeting with MECs (MINMEC) held in the City of Cape Town, Simelane underscored that as government leaders they have a constitutional obligation to redress the pre-1994 spatial plan.

“We must redress spatial inequalities caused by separatist planning of apartheid development and colonialism this is an ugly legacy we have inherited, a legacy we cannot afford to pass on to the next generation”, said Minister Simelane.

To realise a spatial plan reflective of a democratic South Africa, the sector approved a Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) 2024-2029 which seeks to amongst others, deliver 237 000 housing units, 314 000 serviced sites, 100 000 affordable housing and 15 000 social housing units.

Accordingly, MINMEC unanimously agreed that collaboration is at the centre of the successful implementation of the human settlement programmes and that at least 70% of the budget should be used towards the implementation of the MTDP.

Furthermore, Minister Simelane pleaded and called on provinces not to start new projects but to finish those which are already being implemented. In doing this, she emphasized that spheres of government must keep the community informed.

She acknowledged that informing individuals who have been on the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR) for a while, might not take kindly on a direction to prioritise and finish old projects, ultimately freezing on new projects. “Due to budget constraints, tough decisions must be made. We must do more with less. We will move swiftly to unblock stalled projects to deliver more houses. Social facilitation is key to ensure communities work with us to deliver on what we have committed”, she said.

Prior to meeting with MECs, Minister Simelane visited Conradie Park Integrated Development Project. Conradie Park is a catalytic residential project that caters for mixed-income residents. It includes open market, grant-funded social housing, and First Home Finance units. It is expected to yield 3500 residential units of which 1715 of them will be allocated to the Social Housing Programme and First Home Finance.

Enquiries: Tsekiso Machike, Spokesperson to the Minister on 077 410 5050 I Tsekiso.machike@dhs.gov.za OR Mandulo Maphumulo, Acting Head of Communications on 082 099 7699 I Mandulo.maphumulo@dhs.gov.za Issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements, Govan Mbeki House 240, Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria