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Human Settlement Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi was speaking at a community Imbizo and Service Fair held jointly by the three spheres of government in Soweto in the City of Johannesburg on Thursday, 4th of May 2023.

The Minister and Deputy Minister Pam Tshwete, together with Deputy Minister of COGTA Parks Tau, MEC of Human Settlements in Gauteng Lebogang Maile and the City of Joburg representatives, attended to concerns raised by the community, including the sale and renting of government subsidised homes to illegal foreigners, title deeds backlog, interventions for backyard dwellers, blocked projects and delays in the allocation of homes to beneficiaries, amongst others. Scores of people descended to the Alka Cricket Stadium where various other government departments were also exhibiting and attended directly to enquiries.

“We believe that we have achieved what we wanted with this Soweto Imbizo by closing all the communication gaps between the community members and the human settlements sector from all spheres of government. We are working together to ensure that no one is left behind in the provision of sustainable human settlements,” Minister Kubayi said.

Together with her counterparts, the Minister emphasised the need for communities to report criminals who sell government-subsidised homes using fake social media accounts, government or departmental logos or even impersonating political figures.

“The public must also immediately report fraud and corruption to law enforcement authorities. If you pay money, you are then part of a criminal activity. We have and will continue to arrest officials who abuse their powers to advance their narrow interest at the expense of the vulnerable communities,” she said.

Government continues to make strides in providing decent and affordable housing, using various subsidy options such as the First Home Finance for people earning between R3501 to R22000 per month and Breaking New Grounds for people earning R3500 and less.

Since 1994 over a million housing opportunities have been created for the people of Gauteng through the delivery of over 300 000 serviced sites and over 900 000 housing units.

Next week, the department will present its 2023/2024 Budget Vote, detailing the priorities for the current financial year. These include budget allocation to upgrade informal settlements and government plans to assist the missing middle to buy or build houses.

Issued by Department of Human Settlements