WEDNESDAY, 11.30AM:
HOUSING Minister Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyale told Parliament on Tuesday that a clause has been inserted in the Housing Bill giving her powers to set national standards and policy for housing development.
Mthembi-Mahanyale said the standards so set will be binding on the construction industry, adding that the government cannot allow the poor to fall victim to unscrupulous developers.
She also said the poor can no longer be allowed to fall victim to municipalities demanding payment for services people cannot afford. The said the Bill, designed to abolish apartheid housing legislation, will serve as a housing bill of rights which will create a system to ensure sustainable funding of housing development.