Africa-Press – South-Africa. The average amount spent by the government to build RDP houses will increase from R196 887 to R255 364 per house from 1 April.
Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi announced on Friday that her department was ready to kick off a 29.7% increase in subsidy quantum for the 2023/2024 financial year.
Subsidy quantum is the cost summary of how much the government spends on building RDP houses for persons with disabilities, military veterans, first home finance and social housing.
The cost for these social benefits had remained unchanged for five years, contributing to the backlog of housing provision, Kubayi said at a media briefing in Cape Town on Friday.
“The situation is such that we are compelled to effect another increase; otherwise, more projects will be left incomplete, and construction companies will find it hard to survive. We believe that, with these amendments, we can accelerate housing delivery and avoid abandoned projects.
“We continue calling our implementing agents, contractors and developers to deliver quality work on time and within budget,” Kubayi said.
The increase in spending will be as follow:
The minister announced that RDP houses built from 2023/2024 would be fitted with enhancements to help improve living conditions for beneficiaries.
The changes will include the installation of solar kits to allow for the provision of basic electricity.
She said although there had been concerns about the theft of solar equipment, efforts would be made with SAPS and communities to secure the safety of the equipment.
RDP houses provided to disabled people would be fitted with burglar bars to shield the beneficiaries from break-ins and theft.
The provincial government’s response to natural disasters could have been more effective and immediate, necessitating the national government to take over this role.
A national disaster command centre will help to respond quicker to disasters nationwide.
Provincial government departments and municipalities will no longer receive emergency housing grants.
“We believe that this approach will enhance collaborative planning among the three spheres of government in anticipation of disasters and simplify the response, so that we optimise funds allocation across the country and improve the response time.
“However, provinces and municipalities are expected to ensure that they still attend to all outstanding households whose properties were destroyed in previous disasters and are yet to receive assistance, despite municipalities and provinces having received funding for those disasters – meaning the national management will not be retrospective,” Kubayi said.
The department will no longer provide temporary housing following environmental disasters.
Instead, citizens affected by floods will receive vouchers for purchasing building materials and transitional emergency accommodation.
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