The Minister of Housing, Ms. Thembi Simelane, revealed that about 3.4 million people have registered for housing.
Ms Simelane said she got this number from the National Housing Needs Register (NHNR).
“The 2022 Census report shows that about 2.1 million houses are needed. According to the same report, the country has 17.8 million houses, and 13% of the people live in slums,” he said while answering questions at the House of Provincial Council in Parliament this week.
He said they planned that from the financial year 2024/2025 to the financial year 2029/20230, they will build 230,000 houses, and release 314,000 plots.
He also revealed that they are in the process of improving the slums. Regarding the damage caused by the recent floods in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Gauteng, Eastern Cape and KwaZuku-Natal, he said they want to find out how much damage they have caused.
“We are looking at how to intervene in other areas that have been affected by these floods. We are intervening by sending relief materials when there is a fire, conducting research on destroyed houses and also looking at providing temporary housing.”
He said that once all the research is completed, they will know how much money is needed.
“The affected provinces are now aware of the impact of the damage caused to the infrastructure and how much it might cost to repair it. This will encourage us to be able to apply to the disaster fund,” said Ms Simelane.