Department on track to meet housing annual target

The Mpumalanga Department of Human is on track to achieve its annual target of 6 984 housing units for 2019/20 financial year.

Notwithstanding the challenges encountered, the Department has so far been able to deliver 4 947 housing units, and looking to accelerate its delivery in the remaining months. In servicing sites the Department has been able to service 2 445 of them. These achievements were recorded in the nine months performance report for the period ending December 2019.

According to the Head of department, Kebone Masange these milestones had its fair share of challenges. “As the Department we had to deal with the enrollment of our projects with National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) after they were stopped in particular in Ehlanzeni District, perhaps we would have now already exceeded our targets by now, as we always do. We have appointed Geotechnical Specialists and Department’s enrollment officers to facilitate the enrollment process and strengthening the engagements between the Department and NHBRC. In appreciating the bulk infrastructure problems which have a bearing on servicing sites, we stressed that the Department will work with sister departments and the affected municipalities to tackle the challenges. The implementation of bulk infrastructure still remains a challenge from the side of local municipalities, thus the department is focusing on assisting municipalities through partnerships with Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs (COGTA) and Department of Water and Sanitation to ensure that bulk infrastructure services do no delay the implementation of the servicing of sites,” he said.

Following MEC Norah Mahlangu’s announcement during her Budget Vote that in the current five-year the Department will be commencing with the construction of five new CRUs in Sonheuwel, Malalane, Sabie, Umjindi and Reabota areas which will be implemented over the MTSF period, while completing the old on-going CRUs projects in Standerton and Govan Mbeki Local Municipalities. The Department has been able to initiate the process of implementing these plans with some already have sites handed over and contractors introduced to stakeholders.