Affordable Housing Prioritized in the Western Cape

Bonginkosi Madikizela, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Human Settlements, is currently embarking on an outreach programme to all the municipalities of the Western Cape in order to reinforce his department’s three strategic goals. Minister Madikizela is also ensuring that municipal business plans are aligned with the Department’s strategic priorities. The engagements are taking place with all the Western Cape mayors during January and February 2017.

Minister Madikizela has strongly stated that unless the municipal business plans for the 2017-2018 financial year will not be supported unless they reflect these three strategic goals. This includes planning for affordable housing delivery so that taxpayers earning up to R15 000 pm can also afford to become homeowners. Should the business plans fail to address these goals, funding may be shifted to municipalities with plans that do reflect the Departments focus.

 The three strategic goals are

• Upgrading of Informal Settlements programme (UISP)
• Affordable Housing and
• Beneficiary Prioritization.

Madikizela said the aim of the three strategic goals is to maximize the impact of human settlements delivery in the province in fulfilling its mission of creating integrated and sustainable human settlements.

“We make the biggest difference in people’s lives when we focus our resources on the department’s three strategic goals”, said Madikizela.

Strategic goal one will focus on shifting more resources towards upgrading informal settlements, in order to provide basic services to informal settlement residents while they are waiting for housing opportunities.  The basic services include access to water, sanitation and electricity. The UISP also allows for informal settlement residents who earn up to R7500 per month to be given ownership of a serviced site if they meet the required qualification criteria .

Strategic goal two involved strengthening partnership with the private sector to increase the supply of affordable houses for people earning above the free-subsidy threshold, e.g. people who earn above R3500-R15000 and yet do not have the financial means to buy a house without the assistance of a human settlements subsidy.

Strategic goal three focuses on paying attention to the allocation of free subsidized state houses in order to prioritize the most vulnerable beneficiaries, such as the elderly and those with special needs.