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Eastern Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August has announced that  thousands of people currently living in temporary shelters provided by the Provincial Department will be moved into permanent homes. She was tabling the budget vote for 2017/2018 at the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. About eleven thousand temporary shelters were provided to households that were hit by disasters between 2009 and 2016 in the Province.

“The department will prioritise qualifying beneficiaries who have been occupying temporary shelters due to disasters for many years will receive permanent solution (houses) - this will be rolled out over a three (3) year period,” said MEC Helen Sauls-August. Only beneficiaries qualifying for low cost housing subsidies will benefit from this programme. 

Temporary shelters are converted to permanent solution where beneficiaries qualify for housing subsidies. There could be beneficiaries staying in temporary shelters as they were affected by disasters, but don’t qualify for low cost housing subsidies.

The Department ensures that destitute beneficiaries are prioritized in existing projects as the majority of the beneficiaries are residing in rural areas where there are planned or running projects.

Temporary shelters are part of the emergency housing intervention programme that provides temporary houses for families whose houses are damaged by natural disasters in the province.

Issued by Eastern Cape Human Settlements