Gauteng still has a housing backlog of more than 440 000 people, provincial housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane said on Tuesday.
Addressing a luncheon of ”housing stakeholders”, Mokonyane said Gauteng’s housing goals fall within the Breaking New Ground housing-plan document introduced by Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu earlier this year.
She said this means moving towards the creation of precincts that will contribute to integrated development and sustainability.
”We need to introduce a shift from the notion that ‘one size fits all’ to a more pragmatic approach customised to respond to the peculiar needs of a precinct or neighbourhood.”
Housing subsidy bands do not accommodate the changing inflation rate, she said. Sixty-two percent of the province’s population earns less than R3 500 per month.
The central pillar of the Breaking New Ground plan is ”collapsing” the subsidy system. Under the new subsidy scheme, people in the R0-to-R1 500 and R1 500-to-R3 500 income group will receive the full R28 000 subsidy.
For those earning R3 500 to R7 000, the government will pay the deposit on their homes.
She said the province’s main goal is to secure a safe and healthy environment and the development of viable communities.
She also announced that head of department Sibusiso Buthelezi will move over to be the head of the department of public works, roads and transport. — Sapa