Destitute families, including elderly people with disabilities and military veterans to benefit from project prioritisng indigent households in Dimbaza

Deputy Minister for Human Settlements, Pam Tshwete and the MEC for Human Settlements in the Eastern Cape, Nonceba Kontsiwe will handover houses to destitute families, including 81 year old visually impaired Mr Gilbert Geleba who stayed in a shack with his wife and son in Polar Park, Dimbaza Township under the Buffalo City Metro Municipality (BCMM).

The completed houses are part of the first phase in the Dimbaza Polar Park Rectification Project, one of the priority areas for the Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements to ensure that destitute households including the elderly, people with disabilities, child headed households and Military Veterans living in hazardous conditions and dilapidated houses are provided with quality homes thereby restoring their dignity.

The Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements is using on 10% of its Conditional Grant to undertake a special focus on Rectification Programme which prioritize hazardous living condition of  Destitute Families (Elderly, Disabled, MV & Child headed homes) where their houses were poorly built by Municipalities & Service Providers.

The BCMM regional offices through numerous studies that were conducted by NHBRC have identified 6 Areas of focus for rectification of houses in the following areas for 2021/22 Business Plans: Kaysers Beach 50, Sweetwater’s 20, Cambridge 51, Parkridge 78, Dimbaza Polar Park 51 and Dimbaza Towns & Surrounding Areas 320, verified as destitute cases and qualifies to the departmental criteria.

The houses are part of the Dimbaza Polar Park Rectification Project which has already completed 50 houses in its first phase. The second phase is currently under construction for the next 50 houses which is set to be complete during this financial year.

Source: Government of South Africa