Eastern Cape to reallocate unoccupied houses

Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Pretoria – The Eastern Cape is set to start a process to trace the missing beneficiaries of unoccupied government subsidy houses.

The Human Settlements Provincial Department has learned that some municipalities are struggling to trace beneficiaries, whose houses have been completed.

Eastern Cape MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August, has given the go ahead to all municipalities to reallocate unoccupied houses to other qualifying beneficiaries.

This will be done by following a process of deregistration of approved beneficiaries, who have not taken ownership of their completed government subsidy houses.

MEC Sauls-August said municipalities must undertake the process of deregistration, which requires that missing beneficiaries are traced through advertisement.

The missing beneficiaries must be given a period of 21 days to respond before the deregistration process commences.

“If the legal processes is not followed to the latter, the process becomes illegal.  Deregistration must be done correctly,” MEC Sauls-August said.

She was speaking at a quarterly session with councillors responsible for the Human Settlements Portfolio.

Despite the provincial department’s continuous efforts to deliver housing projects in the province, housing units remain unoccupied and subject to vandalism.

“The unoccupied houses also delay the transfer and issuing of title deeds to the correct beneficiaries. This year alone, the department’s plans to lodge, transfer and issue 10 000 title deeds to the correct beneficiaries,” the provincial department said. – SAnews.gov.za