Tag Archives: accompanied by the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance

Department shifts focus to integrated human settlements

NEWS Leave a comment

Picture: North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi hand over RDP houses to beneficiaries/Supplied

By REGINALD KANYANE

11 March 2026- The North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi, accompanied by the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi, recently handed over six houses to rightful beneficiaries at Bokamoso and Thekwane villages in the Rustenburg Local Municipality.

Handing over the houses last Friday, Mokgosi said the gesture was not only about giving beneficiaries a roof over their heads, but also about restoring their dignity and ensuring that they have security, worth and a sense of purpose. He described this as an important aspect of living a dignified life.

“The handover came at the right time as we celebrate Human Rights, urging us to accelerate the fight against inequality and discrimination in all its forms. Government is prioritising housing developments that are fully integrated with infrastructure and social amenities.

“This approach aims to address historical spatial inequalities by ensuring that new housing developments have access to basic services and social amenities. This vision will only be realised, if all stakeholders adhere to the principles of the District Development Model (DDM),” he said.

Mokgosi further said for many years their focus has been on the number of houses built. He added that while this helped to reduce the housing backlog they are facing, they have realised that in doing so, they sometimes overlooked other basic services such as reliable water supply, sanitation and electricity.

North West MEC for COGHSTA, Oageng Molapisi, echoed the Premier’s sentiments, stressing that access to basic services remains a critical part of the government’s housing mandate.

“Our mandate as the department goes beyond simply building houses. It is about creating sustainable human settlements and improving the quality of life for residents by ensuring that they have access to basic services.

“Government now aims to ensure that new housing projects are connected to infrastructure and social amenities in order to create communities where residents can live, work and access services without being isolated,” he said.

Molapisi urged the beneficiaries to take care of their new homes, as they are investments for their future and that of their loved ones. He said this was made possible through strong coordination between local and provincial governments in an effort to create sustainable and integrated human settlements.

Irene Taunyana (79) pensioner, who had been living in a house built from precast walls, was one of the beneficiaries who received her house during the visit to Thekwane village. Taunyana, who was overjoyed, could not hide her excitement when she received her new home and sang at the top of her voice.

“This is a miracle. My life has just changed, and this generous gesture will help restore my health forever. What the government has done for me is a clear signal of how it cares about us, its citizens,” said Taunyana.

Meanwhile, out of a total of 250 housing units in Bokamoso, 161 houses have been built, while in Thekwane 43 houses have been built out of a total of 50 houses. The Department of Human Settlements has reaffirmed its commitment to providing citizens with adequate housing connected to essential services.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

NWPG continues to priorities vulnerable groups across the province

NEWS Leave a comment

Picture: North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi handing over a house/Facebook

By REGINALD KANYANE

6 November 2025- North West Provincial Government (NWPG) said it will continue to prioritise vulnerable groups across all the districts. As part of government’s intervention to address housing challenge to the elderlies, the North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi, accompanied by the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi have recently handed over houses to two elderly persons in Mmamokete village in Zeerust.

During the handover, North West Premier, Lazarus Mokgosi commended the department for the work it has done in a short period.

“Today is about restoring dignity, pride and hope to our community. When we hand over a house we give a foundation on which future generations can build. We remain committed to providing quality housing because every family deserves a safe place to call home,” he said.

Sharing Mokgosi’s sentiments, Molapisi pointed out that the government has a vision of ensuring that communities live in decent houses. He further stated that the three spheres of government require strengthening coordination to ensure provision of services to the most deserving citizens.

“The primary responsibility of the department is to build houses, but one of our challenges is the issue of blocked projects. We have concluded that we prioritize unblocking incomplete projects. We have allocated 80% of our budget to unblocking blocked projects and 20% to new projects. We cannot build new houses whereas we have incomplete projects.

“There are 36 outstanding houses that need to be completed in Mmamokete and the project is included in the current plan of the department. The department is working timeously to improve the quality of life for households in the province and will always prioritize older persons, women and child -headed families in delivering houses across all province,” added Molapisi.

One of the beneficiaries is Eleanor Mothandi (104), who is survived by four children from the 24 she gave birth to. Mothandi is currently living with her children, nine grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

One of her daughters, Mmita Mothandi (50), who is also her caregiver, expressed her gratitude to the department. She said her family has a decent home and their lives will change for the better.

“As the family, we survive on the mother and grandchildren’s monthly social grants. I sometimes do odd jobs to survive as the social grant money is not enough to cater for the whole family,” said Mmita.

The other beneficiary was Christopher Mokwena (72). He lives with his wife, three children and one grandchild. The family has been living in a shack for a long time.

“We also survive on the monthly old age pension, and the child support grant they receive. It’s a great joy to the family to have received such a gift, it’s been long and we are grateful,” he said.

taungdailynews@gmail.com