North West provincial government in conjunction with Lonmin launched the Marikana extension 2 housing projects on Thursday. The project is said to change the face of Marikana which is dominated by informal settlements surrounding the mining areas in the Rustenburg area. More than 2500 houses will be build with the main objective of eradicating informal settlements in the province, especially around the mining towns.

Launching the project, MEC for Local Government and Human Settlements in the North West, Collen Maine called on other mining companies to follow on what Lonmin has done. “We wish to further call upon other mining giants around Bojanala to do the same, because this is the worst affected district in as far as informal settlements are concerned in the province. We remain steadfast and focused as government to ensure total eradication of informal settlements across the province”, said MEC Maine.LONMIN joined forces with government by donated 50 hectors of land last year in October, mainly to build houses for Marikana communities, which mostly are Lonmin employees. The project which is intending to restore people’s dignity will contribute towards the eradication of informal settlements and bring about development in Mining Towns. According to MEC Maine, all community members will be catered for.    “other people might not qualify for low cost houses; others might also not qualify for rental stock, therefore we have provided mixed typologies to ensure everybody remain catered, for example, the project provides for full subsidised housing; provides low income rental stock accommodation; and Making Finance Linked Subsidies available for bonded housing stock. Our officials from the department who are dealing with consumer housing and subsidy administration are here to assist you and provide further technical clarity”, said Maine.

MEC Maine could not complete his address by sending a strong warning to appointed contractors. “we want to caution you that we don’t have any room for poor or shoddy workmanship; in our department, shoddy work remains something of the past. We are going to work closely with a body called National Home Builders Registration Council “NHBRC” which is responsible for quality assurance and our internal inspectors together with lonmin inspectors in ensuring quality of work during the construction of these structures. And remember at the end of the project NHBRC remain responsible to issue- out five year guarantee certificates as part of quality assurance”, he said.
-TDN
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