On 21st October 2014 Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu announced that government had decided that free housing would no longer be given to people under the age of 40 years. There was a tremendous amount of criticism and negative reaction to what the minister reportedly said, reflected in many newspapers and radio talk shows. Headlines ranged from: “Need a free house? Under 40? Tough: Sisulu”; “You’ve lost nothing to apartheid, Sisulu tells youth”; to “No free housing for under 40s – Sisulu”. The minister was quoted as saying to journalists in Durban at the 6th Planning Africa Conference: “Now if it is not clear, say it in every language. None of you are ever going to get a house free from me while I live.” i
Download the report above.
Written by Matsepane Morare SJ, Researcher, Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO)