Sisulu: Don't jump the queue

Government was committed to providing homes for all who needed them, and jumping housing queues would not solve anything, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Thursday.

She was speaking at the ceremonial handover of a batch of N2 Gateway project homes at Delft Symphony in Cape Town.

The houses hit the headlines when they were invaded by backyard dwellers in December last year.

Some were damaged before the illegal occupants were evicted, and have now been repaired.

They were built to house backyard dwellers on a waiting list and residents of the overcrowded Joe Slovo squatter settlement.

Sisulu said housing delivery depended on all citizens being responsible and not jumping queues.

"We will give a house to all who are eligible... please co-operate with us," she said.

That is once she has removed those names she deemed unfit for her housing list... EG: Irene Grootboom

A total of 11 000 homes are being built in the Delft area, of which 9 000 are free, government-subsidised "breaking new ground" (BNG) units, and the rest low-cost bonded houses being built in conjunction with banks.

The BNG homes are at least 40 square metres in area, and have a full bathroom, kitchen and two bedrooms.

Sisulu warned beneficiaries that the government would act against those who sold their houses before the expiry of the statutory eight-year period. - Sapa