Government upgrades for mining settlements

At least 82 informal settlements near mining towns are being evaluated for possible upgrading according to the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster. Image: Upgrading Support

This emerged during a media briefing of government's Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster in Pretoria, which outlined progress on government's priority programmes.

Minister of Basic Education Angie Motshekga, who led the cluster briefing, announced that a total of 62 human settlement projects are at various stages of development in the priority mining towns. "At least 20 of these projects are informal settlement upgrades," she said.

The upgrading forms part of the National Mining Towns Intervention by government aimed at stabilising the mining industry, which remains a major contributor to economic growth and employment in South Africa.

The move follows violent labour unrest in the mining sector, which prompted President Jacob Zuma to delegate then Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe to intervene.

This intervention, which included mining companies and unions, gave birth to the Framework Agreement for a Sustainable Mining Industry. The agreement identified the need for the provision of quality housing for people working in mining towns.

Private sector, state cooperation

Basic Education Minister, speaking on behalf of the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster says 82 mining settlements are being evaluated and major housing projects considered for mining towns. Image: GCIS

In his State of the Nation Address, Zuma committed to helping revitalise mining towns and identified the mining areas of Motlosana, Emalahleni, Sekhukhune, Lephalale, West Rand and Matjhabeng as targets.

Turning to other housing projects, Motshekga said provinces and municipalities have submitted plans for 120 potential projects and these are being considered and assessed. Some of the programmes will deliver more than 10,000 houses in identified areas.

Assessment criteria, she said, have been developed for these projects against the principles and requirements of the Master Spatial Plan to ensure impact and integration.

Involvement from the private sector in this programme is underway.

The cluster also reported that the Department of Human Settlements has acknowledged the challenge of a growing number of beneficiaries of state-subsidised housing who do not have title deeds. Research shows that over a million beneficiaries were never given the title deeds to the properties they supposedly own.

"The Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB) has been tasked with the responsibility of framing a strategy that will ensure the transfer of deeds in a realistic and systematic way," the Human Settlements Department said, adding that the EAAB will initiate more rigorous and independent audits of both pre- and post-1994 outstanding transfers.

This exercise of transferring title deeds to beneficiaries of state-subsidised housing has to be completed by 2019.