Human settlement department allocates R10bn to upgrade informal settlements 18 May 2021 - 17:42 Image: THULANI MBELE
Government has allocated R10bn to upgrade informal settlements across the country over the next three years.
This was announced by human settlements minister Lindiwe Sisulu in the National Assembly during her budget vote for the 2021/2022 financial year. Sisulu said the department wants to upgrade 679 informal settlements across the country this year.
More than half of these settlements are based in country’s big metros.
Sisulu told parliament that the Social Housing Regulatory Authority will start disbursing R300m of the R600m rental relief , as soon as all the necessary checks and balances are in place.
City of Cape Town’s rental stock to be upgraded in partnership programme 14 May 2021 - 15:07 A partnership between the City of Cape Town and National Housing Finance Corporation will see an upgrade and maintenance of the city’s rental stock. Stock photo. Image: 123RF/andiafaith
The National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) has formed a partnership with the City of Cape Town which will see an upgrade and maintenance of the city’s rental stock, estimated at 57,000 units.
The partnership was announced this week by human settlements, water and sanitation minister Lindiwe Sisulu.
She said the partnership would go a long way in providing decent, secure and affordable accommodation to the people who live and work in Cape Town.
Authority to speed up delivery of social housing projects
By Edward West
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THE SOCIAL Housing Regulatory Authority wants to pull in the construction sector through proactive invitations to participate in empowerment deals to speed up the delivery of social housing projects, said SHRA chairperson Bathabile Dlamini.
Writing in the 2020 State of the Social Housing Report, she said the construction sector had valuable expertise and experience to support the transformation drive, deliver at pace, and create and maintain jobs in the social housing sector, and a new social housing programme had been developed in the past year.
“There is clear evidence that the social housing sector has huge potential to grow and is an important delivery mechanism, as it not only provides affordable rentals to low-income households, but facilitates urban regeneration and sustainability of local municipalities,” she said.
Human Settlements Development Bank close to being finalised 29 April 2021 - 14:32 In 2019 President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government would establish the Human Settlements Development Bank, which aims to expedite the delivery of houses in the country. The state set a target of building 500,000 houses by 2024. File photo. Image: SINO MAJANGAZA
Deputy minister of human settlements, water and sanitation Pam Tshwete on Thursday told parliament that the establishment of the Human Settlements Development Bank (HSDB) was at an advanced stage.
“The bill for the bank has been drafted. It has been sent to the state law advisers for scrutiny and it will be presented to the cabinet in May. It will then go for public comments, which is important, it cannot be finalised without going for public comment,” said Tshwete.
"People want to live closer to work environments where they have access to transport . Covid-19 and job losses have affected affordability," said Mandu Mamatela from the National Housing Finance Corporation.