Human Settlements Minister Mamoloko Kubayi has made an impassioned plea to South Africans with housing problems to have confidence in government’s ability to address them.
This follows reports that her department is confronted with incidents in which people sell the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) houses they are allocated or use them for rentals.
The department says such incidents are on the rise. It has called on members of the public to report them to the police.
The Housing Amendment Act stipulates that a beneficiary may not sell the house within the first eight years of taking occupation of it.
Kubayi says urban migration has compounded the country’s housing problems.
“People have tended not to believe us when we say we are going to build them a house. So, what they do is move into an informal area. Some of them literally put themselves in dangerous areas. We will have an obligation to remove them immediately. We need to move into a system as Human Settlements. When we say we are going to build you a house in February 2023, people must know that they are going to receive that house,”says Kubayi.
Lack of housing biggest challenge for the poor
Housing, or the lack thereof, remains one of the biggest issue poor people face in the country. For the people of the Eastern Cape to get a house is a drag as they have to await their turn depending on whether they are on the waiting list.
However, fraud and corruption have destroyed their dreams of owning a home one day. Another problem is the housing backlog of 600 000 units which further delays the housing plan.
In the report below, A 59-year-old disabled man from Sterkspruit is not sure about the status of his application for a house:
Meanwhile, National Spokesperson of Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement SA, Thapelo Mohapi, speaks about housing challenges in the country:
