Housing

The Housing Department is staffed by 4 people. The unit manager, Mr. Leslie Morubane, leads a team that includes a PA, a Housing Controller and 2 Housing Scheme Administrator (1 local at council offices in Lichtenburg, and the other working out of a satellite in Itsoseng).

Challenges

• Informal settlements sprouting out in places unsuitable for housing;
• Shortage of land for housing which leads to current owners charging high prices to sell their land to the council;
• Eviction of people from farms;
• Shortage of water;
• Because some areas receive their electricity supply from Eskom and others from the Municipality, there is unequal treatment of areas when there is  difficulty in coordinating the two supply plans.

Current Housing Projects/Plans to deal with informal settlements

The currently 5 informal settlements – Lenz (near Blyden...) , Thlabologang, (near Coligny), Sonderwater (near Verdwaal), Boikhutso (H-section) and Itekeng.

Settlement	Total Units	Units Approved	Backlog
Boikhutso (H-section)	2500	2000	500
Lenz	1000		1000
Thlabologang	700		700
Itekeng	1000		1000
Sonderwater	600		600
TOTAL	5300	2000	3300

Managed People’s Housing Project (Pilot Project

This is a new approach to providing housing. The process utilizes what building resources each future house owner may have, e.g., windows, doors, frames, etc., and include the involvement of the owner and/or the community in the building process.

• A repository of building materials will be established;
• Inspectors will be sent to evaluate existing (informal) structures and resources and make recommendation on the specific requirements of each house;
• The owner is provided with house construction skills and is expected to take part in the erection of the house;
• In the case where the owner is elderly or cannot physically take part in the building process, the department will pay a sum of R2,500 to a volunteer (who must be a local community member).