"WE WILL PRIORITIZE DELIVERY OF HOUSES FOR THE ELDERLY AND SPECIAL GROUPS IN THE COMING FIVE YEARS" MINISTER SISULU

The Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu wish to reconfirm and emphasize that the criteria for allocation of full title housing (full stand BNG houses) has been amended to prioritise the elderly and special groups like Military veterans, child headed families and people with disability. The housing database or waiting list is also being audited and adjusted to prioritise possible beneficiaries by age, starting with the elderly and those with special needs (see report).

The Minister added that MINMEC, a Committee of Minister and all Provincial MECs of Human Settlements resolved in 2009 that priority must be given to the elderly and young people and those under forty years must take advantage of other programmes of Government like subsidised rental, social housing and service sites supports.

"In my Budget speech already in June 2009 I repeated a decision we took as MINMEC in 2009 that our priority are the elderly considering our limited resources, not young people, it was our view then and is still is today that there has to come a time that as a nation we must be able to say there is no one in our country who is over 60 who do not have decent accommodation, that must be our priority, and we can achieve that by 2019" She added.

The Minister urged young people who earn between R3500 to R10.000 to take advantage of the Government Finance Linked Subsidy Programme (FLISP) to enable them to get into the property market. "This is one of our many subsidy programmes for first time home owners, this programme is assisting police officials, nurses, teachers and many others who need assistance within this salary bracket. Those who work for Government must also take advantage of the Government Employee Housing Scheme that is being finalised with labour" She added.

The MINMEC added that the Social Contract for Development of Human Settlements also provided more opportunities for those who want to join the housing market trough gap housing and rental accommodation. "The reality is that we are the only Government in the world that provides free housing including serviced land to citizens, in doing that we must be sensitive to the costs and the impact it is having in the provision of other services, with the limited resources we have, we must prioritise the elderly and also implement other programmes to support young groups" Sisulu aid.

Statement issued by Ndivhuwo Mabaya, Head of Communication, Ministry of Human Settlements, October 22 2014

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