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

Issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements Govan Mbeki House 240 Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria, 0001.

Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Deputy Minister Mahambehlala will lead a human settlements delegation to assess progress of interventions for families affected by gale-force winds and heavy rains in the City of Cape Town.

The Ministerial delegation will visit various disaster-stricken areas in Khayelitsha including Nkandla, Zami Mpilo, Kuyasa and Victoria Mxenge. Scores of people have been left homeless across the province with the number expected to rise due to the continued wet weather and potential flooding.

The team from Human Settlements Emergency Housing, which includes the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), has been on the ground since the disasters happened to provide the necessary support to those who have lost their informal structures in Monwabisi and New Momwabisi Park, Kuyasa informal Settlements and to assess damages caused to permanent structures.

Details are as follows:

Date: 11 July 2024 Time: 09h00 Meeting Point: Harare Library Centre, Ward 99, Khayelitsha ACTIVITY 1 - SITE VISIT NKANDLA, ZAMIMPILO AND KUYASA (WARD 99) Time: 09h30

ACTIVITY 2 - SITE VISITS TO VICTORIA MXENGE (WARD 91) Time: 11h30 Meeting Point: Sub-Council 09 Offices, Khayelitsha – Cnr Bonga and Sulani Drive

ACTIVITY 3 – ONSITE MEDIA INTERACTION Time: 12h30

For Media enquiries, contact: Hlengiwe Nhlabathi-Mokota, Ministry Spokesperson on 064 754 8426 or DHS Head of Communications Nozipho Zulu at 078 457 9376

Issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements, Govan Mbeki House 240, Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria, 0001.

At least 500 households whose properties are submerged in water following disastrous floods in Cape Town are being relocated to safer accommodations temporarily, as gale-force winds and heavy rains persist.

The urgent government intervention happened as Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Deputy Minister Tandi Mahambehlala led a human settlements delegation to assess the progress of interventions for families in desperate need of shelter in the unrelenting cold and wet weather.

A similar approach was adopted during the recent floods in Gqeberha and Buffalo City in the Eastern Cape and Buffalo City and the intention is for this to be replicated across the country. This also means that the immediate priority is to identify land within two weeks where affected households can permanently be moved to begin their new lives.

The Ministerial delegation visited various disaster-stricken areas in Khayelitsha including Nkandla, Zamimpilo, Kuyasa, and Victoria Mxenge. Scores of people have been left temporarily homeless due to water-logged homes across the province because of continued wet weather and flooding. “Our immediate intervention is to relocate families to be accommodated at the Western Cape School of Governance where we will enter into a lease agreement of 30 days. In two weeks, we must identify land and I have spoken to all the families who are affected, and they have agreed to move,” said Minister Kubayi.

“Our concern is mainly that with a level 8 warning, it means the rain will continue and we don’t want these communities to continue in this dire state where their shelters are submerged under water, so we are moving them to a safe place at least for 30 days while we look at alternative land parcels where they can be permanently relocated to build a new life away from flood plains.”

The relocation for this community is not only in one ward but will expand to more areas currently in danger or Category C informal settlements. The City of Town alone has over 800 of these informal settlements in danger zones and Minister Kubayi emphasised a need for a more proactive approach when dealing with disasters.

“We need to put preventative measures in place, and this work is ongoing. Moreover, I have instructed MECs in all nine provinces to also identify more of these Category-C informal settlements so that work can continue to mitigate imminent disasters,” said Minister Kubayi.

As part of disaster intervention and mitigation measures, the Department of Human Settlements also provides the Informal Settlement Upgrading grant to Provinces and Municipalities, which entails the upgrading of informal settlements in-situ (developing the area where an informal settlement is located) by providing bulk infrastructure like storm water drainage to avert flooding.

“In some areas we visit we find that there is no proper stormwater drainage system to absorb water during heavy rains, so we need to put in place the bulk infrastructure to mitigate against a situation where people are locked in water”, said the Minister.

The Minister appealed for greater coordination amongst all spheres of government whenever disaster strikes, “as communities cared more about how soon government responds to their plight, and less about competition or blame games amongst leaders”.

“My appeal to those we work with in human settlements, is that we are not here to compete or throw stones at each other, but we must complement each other to work as a family and as a team in responding to communities”, said Kubayi.

The Minister emphasized that the response to disasters requires all the affected government departments to play their part in ensuring that the victims are attended to. This is because beyond the provision of shelter for the victims there are other needs such as transport, protection of their properties which in some cases get stolen, and food and other necessities.

The Minister acknowledged efforts by NGOs such as the Gift of the Givers amongst others, who continuously work with the government during emergencies.

Teams will continue with work onsite through the weekend. This includes assessing the structural integrity of damaged formal structures. The team from Human Settlements Emergency Housing, which includes the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC), has been on the ground since the disasters happened to provide the necessary support to those who have lost their informal structures in Monwabisi, New Momwabisi Park, and Kuyasa informal Settlements as well as to assess damages caused to permanent structures.

For Media enquiries, contact: Hlengiwe Nhlabathi-Mokota, Ministry Spokesperson on 064 754 8426 or DHS Head of Communications Nozipho Zulu at 078 457 9376 Issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements, Govan Mbeki House 240, Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria, 0001.

The Minister of Human Settlements, Mmamoloko Kubayi, and Deputy Minister Tandi Mahambehlala will on Wednesday, 17 July 2024, table the 2024/25 Budget Vote for the Department and its entities in Parliament, Cape Town.

Members of the media are invited to cover the Debate on Budget 33 as follows: Date: 17 July 2024 Time: 16h15 – 18h15 Venue: M46, Marks Building, Parliamentary Precinct, Cape Town

The Budget Vote will be broadcast live on Parliament TV with live streaming on various Departmental and Parliamentary social media platforms on the links below:

https://www.facebook.com/humansettlements
https://twitter.com/ParliamentofRSA
http://www.facebook.com/ParliamentofRSA
http://www.youtube.com/user/ParliamentofRSA

NB: The Minister and Deputy Minister of Human Settlements will be available for media interviews.

For Media enquiries, contact: Hlengiwe Nhlabathi-Mokota, Ministry Spokesperson on 064 754 8426 or DHS Head of Communications Nozipho Zulu at 078 457 9376

Issued by the Ministry of Human Settlements, Govan Mbeki House 240, Justice Mahomed Street, Sunnyside, Pretoria, 0001.