MAHIKENG MAIL - MAHIKENG: The MEC in the North West for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs, Gaoage Oageng Molapisi, recently expressed satisfaction on the progress registered on the Redirile Housing Project, wherein 385 housing units are being constructed.
He said this demonstrates the department’s commitment to ensuring that the elderly, people with disabilities and child-headed families are provided with quality housing, their living conditions are improved and gaining back their dignity.
The Redirile Housing Project is part of the department’s efforts in aiming to provide quality housing to residents, particularly those who have been living in derelict conditions for years. The project, which started in 2022 is currently at 90% completion, with less than 30 units still to be completed and handed over to beneficiaries.
MEC Molapisi said if the department can keep up this speed, they will be able to tackle all the housing backlogs they are faced with, thereby providing communities with decent homes and improving their livelihoods.
Moreover, the MEC together with the Head of Department, Kgomotso Mahlobo and other departmental officials paid a visit to an 84-year-old elderly woman who has been staying in a dilapidated shack with her six grandchildren for years, and has not benefitted from government’s low-cost housing scheme.
The MEC expressed his concerns over the family’s living conditions and made a commitment that his department together with the local municipality will follow up on the matter to ensure that the household’s situation improves and that the elderly woman will get a decent house.
“It cannot be correct that this elderly women is still exposed to such living conditions. As the department, we will ensure that all necessary measures are taken to ensure that a house is built for her.”
Head of Department, Kgomotso Mahlobo echoed the MEC’s sentiments that the department, working together with municipalities will continue to identify elders in need and assist them. She further stressed the importance of regular application follow-ups and reviewing housing policies to ensure that they are appropriate for identifying deserving applicants. “By doing so, the department can better support vulnerable community members and provide them with the assistance they need.”
