Residents of Soshanguve Extension 4 were overjoyed to receive the title deeds to their new homes.
The MEC for human settlements and infrastructure development, Lebohang Maile, together with the MMC for human settlements in Tshwane, Ofentse Madzebatela, handed over 589 title deeds as part of concerted effort to address the housing backlog and deliver quality service to the residents.
Thousands of residents participated in dialogues and posed questions regarding title deeds, seeking clarification.
The community members gained clear insights into title deed intricacies and gained guidance on how to address their concerns as a result of this interactive process.
Madzebatela said the initiative was a crucial aspect of the City’s commitment to prioritising residents in service delivery, ensuring that they fulfilled the promises made to the community.
He said title deeds were transferred to beneficiaries upon completion of new settlements, but in cases where settlements were completed many years ago, they were not transferred.
Madzebatela added that these were challenges faced by municipalities because beneficiaries changed their contact details, no longer resided in the city, or sold their houses informally, which created a backlog of title deeds that were not collected.
“As a City, we maintain our commitment to positioning our human settlements programmes as catalysts for significant economic growth,” said Madzebatela.
He added that the City would continue its collaboration with the provincial government to unlock opportunities through the human settlements programmes.
Maile also stressed the importance of safeguarding RDP houses and warned against their sale and borrowing from loan sharks against their title deeds.
He said such actions posed a threat to the housing security of future generations and also posed security risks, such as the criminal misuse of title deeds, which could burden the department.
“Our mission is to provide houses to over 1.2 million people in Gauteng who need houses. We have provided housing to over 1.3 million people in Gauteng since 1994,” he said.
Maile said at least 230 000 people relocated to Gauteng every year and wanted jobs, education, and other important things.
Soshanguve residents Michael and Elizabeth Hlatshwayo were among the beneficiaries.
They said they were happy that they had finally received their title deed after a long time.
Madzebatela extended an invitation to anyone facing challenges related to human settlements to approach the metro for assistance.
Pretoria News