Wednesday, November 24, 2010

’Fresh approach is needed to deal with housing backlog’

MPs have instructed Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale and his officials to get creative in order to tackle the country’s housing backlog.

The Minister briefed Parliament’s Housing Portfolio Committee on Wednesday, when the Western Cape was identified as one of the worst under-spenders.

MPs believe a fresh approach is vital in dealing with the country’s housing problems.

South Africa currently has 2,700 informal housing settlements nationwide.

Committee member Butch Steyn said, “We need to start thinking out of the box. We need to do exactly what they are doing in Limpopo; we need to start thinking of developing new cities.”

Minister Sexwale agreed that there are challenges, including rural South Africans’ growing attraction to cities.

“Everybody wants to come to Johannesburg, Cape Town... [The] biggest headache is urbanisation,” he said.

However he said about 8,000 housing projects are currently under construction in an attempt to deal with the situation.

- Eyewitness News

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