Gauteng Housing MEC Motara says dept needs more money to clear backlog

JOHANNESBURG - Gauteng Housing MEC Tasneem Motara has defended her department’s pace in clearing the housing backlog in the province.

She told the legislature that the R6 billion allocated was not enough.

The backlog stands at 1.3 million residents who are without adequate housing.

The province has 45 housing projects dating back from 2008 which are incomplete.

READ: 30 years of democracy | Alex residents say living conditions 'a hellish nightmare of suffering and devastation'

Motara said that her department needed more money to provide housing for Gauteng residents.

"The plan to address the backlog is to build according to the budget we have been allocated. This will go a long way with easing the pressure, but it is not going to address the backlog as that requires huge sums of money that the National Department of Human Settlements does not have."