Houses for all - Cassel Mathale

LEPHALALE - A special Youth Summit organised by the provincial department of Co-operative Governance and Human Settlements was held on Tuesday 22 November at the Mogolklub in Onverwacht to unveil the Human Settlement Vision 2030 plan. The Summit aimed to encourage the youth of Limpopo to seek out opportunities to benefit in the developments in the Waterberg area.
Premier Cassel Mathale told attendees that the Human Settlement Vision 2030 will serve to provide housing for all. “The Constitution clearly provides that everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing and it is incumbent upon us to ensure that the objectives of the Constitution are realised.”
“We have a moral obligation to eradicate ghettos which our people have called houses for many years because they did not have an alternative or means to build better homes. We must work very hard to bring reality to the dreams and aspirations of our people of owning houses and not slums and ghettos.”
He said that the province was on the right path in ensuring that suitable houses are erected for people who do not qualify for bank loans and who are working far from their residential areas.
“We will never fail our commitment of bringing people closer to services. We have an obligation to build residential areas which give dignity to our people while at the same time redressing the apartheid spatial planning.”
He told the Summit that the department is registering processes in mixing various types of houses in urban areas in an attempt to deracialise neighbourhoods.
Other speakers at the summit included the MEC for Co-operative Governance and Human Settlements, Soviet Lekganyane, who reminded the youth that they need to be involved in decision-making.
He added that his department would like to engage in discussions with the youth to establish how they can better be served.
“In crafting our vision, we are mindful that a child born today will be 20 years old by 2030, and will need somewhere to live. We should be planning for the needs of that future adult. "
"To succeed, Human Settlements Vision 2030 must be essentially for and by the youth – it is about their own future homes, apartments and bachelor’s flats. It is about the future rural settlements and urban centres: it is about future towns and cities in Limpopo,” he explained.
He further spoke about developing 10 towns into major cities in Limpopo, including Mussina and Makhado, and said that he believed that Lephalale will soon be a major hub in the province.
Limpopo Youth League branch chairman Frans Moswane, took a more radical stance when he echoed the national Youth League’s call to take land without compensation during his speech.