President Ramaphosa calls for housing closer to jobs and services
Government is working to transform the country’s housing model by developing integrated human settlements that bring people closer to employment, public services and economic opportunities.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said this at the Cornubia Integrated Human Settlement Project milestone celebration in eThekwini on Thursday.
The President said this approach is necessary to reverse apartheid-era spatial planning, which historically forced the majority of the population to live far from economic hubs.
From the Census, we know that the share of households living in formal dwellings has risen from 65 percent in 1996 to more than 88 percent in 2022.
Few countries have provided housing to their people on this scale.
Yet the need remains great.
Population growth and rapid urbanisation mean that nearly 4 million individuals are still on the national housing needs register.
We must acknowledge that too many of the houses built in the early years of democracy were located far from jobs and services.
Housing must be within reach of schools, health services and transport.
It must be close to economic opportunity and community facilities.
That is why we have sought to build not just houses, but human settlements.
We have sought to build integrated neighbourhoods, where residents have what they need to live comfortable lives.
President Ramaphosa said government was pursuing new approaches to housing delivery, including expanding affordable housing, revitalising commuter rail and releasing well-located public land for housing.
Government is also introducing a model that provides subsidies for home ownership and rental in suitable areas, while supporting people to build, buy or rent their own homes.
The President said government was working to unblock stalled housing projects to ensure people were not left waiting for homes that had been promised.
Listen to communities and treat them as partners. Because it is through partnership that we make progress.