Military veterans to get 5,000 new houses

Human Settlements Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, says that building houses for Military Veterans is a national priority. Image: GCIS

The department said it will kick-start this national campaign while celebrating Habitat Day.

The plan to build 5,000 houses will be led by the Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, who will host the annual Human Settlements Media Build together with the private sector and various media houses, at the Fleurhof Estate in Johannesburg.

"It is our intention to clear the backlog of all Military Veterans who seek houses and shelter in under three years. We will be launching projects in all nine provinces. We want to build them decent houses to restore their dignity and to honour their contribution to our freedom because this is a national priority," said Sisulu.

The United Nations has designated the first Monday of October as World Habitat Day. The purpose of the day is to reflect on the state of towns and cities and on the basic rights of people to adequate shelter.

The department said the 2014 Media Build will be held under the theme "Restoring the dignity of military veterans through human settlements," and will see members of the media, senior government officials, human settlement stakeholders and sponsors from the private sector build and donate three houses to the three eldest military veterans in the Gauteng military veterans database.

"Sponsors at this event include CalgroM3, First National Bank and Kansai Plascon," the department said.