Government responds to KZN military veterans’ housing challenges

Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and KwaZulu-Natal Human Settlements and Public Works MEC, Jomo Sibiya, have undertaken to prioritise the delivery of houses for military veterans in the province over the next few months.

This is in response to the military veterans housing backlog, which has led to some of the veterans illegally occupying the Aloe Ridge social housing project in Pietermaritzburg.

Kubayi visited KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday to meet with all affected stakeholders of Aloe Ridge to find a lasting solution to facilitate the removal of illegally occupied social housing units in an “agreed approach”.

The Minister said while the department has a duty to look after people who qualify for fully subsidised government houses, they cannot promote the illegal occupation of private properties, anarchy and lawlessness.

“This affects service delivery and has no place in a democratic government. We don’t want eviction that will lead to bloodshed or loss of life,” Kubayi said.

The Minister has also condemned public servants who have taken advantage of the military veterans’ plight by allocating themselves units at Aloe Ridge.

“We have taken a decision that those public servants must either sign lease agreements or vacate, and hand over the keys to the social housing institution within seven days,” she said.

Other decisions taken and agreed upon with the military veterans include:

• The Department of Human Settlements to provide shelter to the indigent and military veterans, including those who are yet to be confirmed by the Department of Military Veterans until the construction of the BNG units is complete; and
• Accelerating the construction of houses within 12 months, [and] ensuring that every new housing project has a percentage allocated to military veterans.

Kubayi acknowledged that government needs to work hard to avert a situation where military veterans take the law into their own hands.

“We are a Constitutional democracy based on the rule of law. We remain committed to increasing the pace of housing delivery for all, including military veterans.”

Kubayi and Sibiya have further tabled a proposal to the Business Rescue Practitioners (BRP) of Aloe Ridge to agree on the staggered evacuation process and relief measures to ensure operational sustainability of the social housing institution — Capital City Social Housing — while measures are being put in place for a permanent solution.