Address by Hon. Premier TSP Makwetla at the Launch of the
Breaking New Ground Housing Programme,
Thaba
Chweu Municipality
14 November 2008
Programme Director
MEC for Local Government and Housing, MEC Mashego-Dlamini
Members of the Executive Council and MPLs
Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Local Government and Housing, Hon. N.J Mahlangu
The Executive Mayor of Thaba Chweu, Cllr. C Ndlovu
Chairperson of SALGA, Cllr S.K Mashilo,
Mayors and Councillors,
Chairperson of the Mpumalanga Housing Finance Company (MHFCO),
Mr T.G Mokoena,
CEO of Mpumalanga Housing Finance Company, Mr G.J Dladla,
Managers in the public service,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is a pleasing development for me to be part of the launch of
the ‘Breaking New Ground’ housing programme in the Province. The
occasion of the launch of this ‘groundbreaking’ initiative in
the Province speaks to the broad social transformation
imperatives of building a better society anchored on the values
of equality, human dignity, inclusivity, and equitable access to
development and economic opportunities.
It speaks to our collective obligation to work tirelessly to
advance the realization of socio-economic rights for the
citizens of the Province in a way that promotes empowerment,
unity, equality, and social inclusion.
As one of the fundamental human rights, access to shelter
is a source of dignity and sense of self-worth for many of our
poor citizens in the Province.
Owning a house is an important measure of positive change
towards realizing a better life. Therefore, our commitment to
accelerate the delivery of housing to communities in
Programme Director, our democratic society emerged from a social
environment characterised by fragmented and racially-based human
settlements and economic systems which were supported by the
apartheid system. The
legacy of spatial settlement patterns continues to define the
landscape of human settlements and uneven access economic
opportunities, social infrastructure and basic services.
In this context, the national social transformation challenge is
not only about the provision of shelter, but also about the need
to pursue the achievement of a non-racial, integrated society
through the development of sustainable human settlements and
quality housing.
Clearly, the ‘Breaking New Ground’ programme that we are
launching today in the Province is a groundbreaking initiative
to reverse the apartheid spatial settlement legacy, which
continues to perpetuate duality in the quality of basic
infrastructure provisioning and the general quality of life in
our society. It is about
social transformation to address asset-poverty and bring about
the de-racialization of community settlements.
Alongside this, our housing programme envisions the development
of socially inclusive settlements which are well designed and
environmentally efficient. In
doing this, we seek to reverse the inherited distortions of the
apartheid space economy by ensuring that planned human
settlements provide holistic development that incorporates
quality infrastructure that supports the creation of economic
opportunities, wealth creation, poverty alleviation as well as
the delivery of public amenities such as schools, clinics, and
recreational facilities.
Essentially, the Breaking New Ground programme will provide
opportunities for us to overcome spatial, social and economic
exclusion by enhancing mobility and accessibility through
efficient transport networks and ensuring that settlements are
well located in relation to areas of economic activity.
It is critical that mixed-income residential settlements become
an instrument to promote social interaction and cohesion across
racial and class lines. In
line with our ‘greening agenda’ in
As part of our accelerated housing delivery programme, the
provincial Department of Housing has tasked the Mpumalanga
Housing and Finance Company to establish integrated and
sustainable settlements throughout the Province.
As a Province, we are
committed to addressing backlogs in the delivery of houses.
In part, the BNG
programme will contribute towards the eradication of the housing
backlogs in the Province.
Over a period of 5 years, the Mpumalanga Housing Finance Company
(MHFCO) will deliver 70,000 units.
MHFCO has identified a
number of projects in various municipalities where integrated
human settlements will be established. Over 10 years, 13 190
units will be built by the MHFCO to benefit families in various
parts of the Province.
Programme Director, in the State of the Province Address in
February this year, we committed to commencing the construction
of 500 units in Thaba Chweu as part of our roll-out of the
Breaking New Ground programme. I
am happy that we are here today to launch the provincial
roll-out of BNG programme, with work already underway for the
construction 5 048 housing units in Thaba Chweu.
The first phase of the work to integrate the former Lydenburg
town with
Programme Director, the BNG programme requires municipalities to
be visionary and proactive in spatial development planning so
that development does not happen in a haphazard and
uncoordinated way. To deliver integrated and sustainable human
settlements, long-term planning is critical to enable
municipalities to plan ahead for the provision of social and
economic infrastructure in areas targeted for human settlements.
Therefore, it is crucial that municipalities continuously assess
human settlement needs, and identify well located land for
housing. The quality and credibility of housing needs in every
municipality is important to inform long-term planning for
housing delivery in the Province.
In conclusion, I want to point out that the success of Breaking
New Ground programme depends on effective intergovernmental
cooperation and public/private partnerships to ensure that all
relevant stakeholders play their part in shaping the new society
that we envision.
I
thank you.
Issued by: Office of the Premier,