KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala has unveiled a R340-million housing project, comprising 2 500 units, at the Big Five local municipality, in Umkhanyakude district.
He said the African National Congress-led government pursued an integrated approach involving all spheres of government to ensure the roll-out of human settlements across the province.
“We have taken a deliberate decision to use the construction of houses as a catalyst for local economic development and job creation for local communities. We insist that local emerging contractors are prioritised as part of driving radical economic transformation through the rollout of human settlements.
"As we indicated in the State of the Province Address, we will use the Expanded Public Works Programme to ensure the training and employment of local youth during the construction. We believe that the construction of houses is about giving back dignity to the poor, the vulnerable and, in particular, to those who are in rural areas,” the Premier commented.
He added that the government wanted all human settlement projects in the province to be completed on time and within budget.
"This provincial government will not hesitate to revoke developer status from municipalities that are failing to deliver houses to our people,” Zikalala warned.