Picture: The North West MEC for COGHSTA, Oageng Molapisi
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
9 April 2025- The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi, will on 10 April 2025, host the strategic meeting of the MEC with Executive Mayors and Mayors (MUNIMEC).
Molapisi said the MUNIMEC has been established in line with the Intergovernmental Relations Framework (IGR), which is the platform designed to improve collaboration, enhance municipal governance, address systemic service delivery challenges, such as housing; foster financial accountability and amplify the institutionalisation of the District Development Model (DDM).
“We will also officially launch the Clean Cities Campaign under the theme “Rata Tikologo Ya Gago” (Love Your Environment). The campaign forms part of the province’s broader commitment to sustainable development and improved service delivery.
“The meeting will take place at Protea Hotel in Klerksdorp on 10 April 2025, at 9am, while the launch of the Clean Cities Campaign will take place in Kanana Township, near Orkney at 2pm,” he said.
9 April 2025- Military veterans in Ganyesa were on cloud nine as they moved into their new houses. This comes after the North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi, presented them with keys to their houses recently.
Molapisi said the handover marked a significant milestone in the department’s commitment of eradicating the military veterans housing programme backlog and providing quality houses to them, thereby improving their livelihoods. He said during the handover, he emphasized that the provincial department, in conjunction with the National Department of Military Veterans, have resolved and agreed on the standard plan nationally and that made way for these houses to be constructed.
“The department remains committed to ensuring that all military veterans are traced and get access to their benefits, including building houses for them. It remains the department’s mandate to ensure that the military veterans housing backlog becomes a thing of the past.
“This is possible, if we work together to ensure that our military veterans are given back their pride and dignity for all the sacrifices they have made for the freedom we are enjoying today,” he said.
Molapisi further said he is proud to stand before them to witness their patience finally paying off. He added that they kept their faith and thanked them for that.
“This is your home, please look after it,” said Molapisi.
The acting mayor of Kagisano Molopo Local Municipality, Karolo Mothwane, welcomed the delivery and handover of the houses. Mothwane said the municipality prides itself to be recognised as the first municipality in the North West to hand over houses to military veterans.
“As the municipality we are very privileged to be home to these great men who committed their lives to the fight for freedom, their legacy will forever be preserved for prosperity” he said.
Former Bophuthatswana Defence Force (BDF) member and one of the beneficiaries of the military veterans housing programme, Patrick Nampa (54) said he is happy that his dream of owning a house has been realised. Nampa has been living in his family house with his wife and children.
Another beneficiary, Motlapele Otto (59) said that he is happy for his family now that they have their own home. Otto worked for the Bophuthatswana Defence Force from 1986 to 1994, then joined the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) until 1997. He is currently staying with his wife and children, and he is a military veteran’s grant recipient.
“I want to thank the department for taking care of the military veterans. This really shows that we were not fighting the Apartheid regime for nothing,” said Otto.
Both Nampa and Otto urged other military veterans to be patient, because they believe that their turn will also come.
Meanwhile, out of the targeted 33 houses for the previous financial year, the department has managed to build and complete 13 military veterans’ houses. Seven are in Ganyesa, two in Tlakgameng, one in Kgokgojane and the other three are in Mabele-a-pudi and Bapong villages respectively.
Picture: Northern Cape MEC for COGHSTA, Bentley Vass, Sol Plaatje municipal speaker, Dipuo Peters and Executive Mayor of Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, Martha Bartlett/Supplied
By REGINALD KANYANE
2 April 2025- The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass undertook an oversight visit to the Sol Plaatje Municipality (SPM), as part of a drive to accelerate service delivery and ensure better coordination between the two spheres of government. Vass said the visit began with a high-level meeting, attended by the Executive Mayor, Martha Bartlett, the Municipal Speaker, Dipuo Peters, Members of the Mayoral Committee (MMCs), and senior administrative leaders of the SPM.
“During the session, reports were presented on the Budget Facility for Infrastructure (BFI) project aimed at addressing the municipality’s water challenges, as well as the ongoing issues in Diamond Park related to sewerage.
“The meeting also focused on the municipality’s planned interventions to resolve these issues. Following the meeting, the delegation visited the Newton Water Reservoir and the Diamond Park area to further assess the situation on the ground,” he said.
Vass further said he was joined by the acting Head of Department (HoD), advocate Mogami Manyeneng and Senior Managers from the department. He added that they are encouraged by the positive feedback on the BFI water project and the ongoing efforts to resolve the water challenges in the city.
“We have established a task team consisting of the Department of COGHSTA, the Sol Plaatje Municipality and National Department of Water and Sanitation to explore long-term solutions for the sewer challenges in Diamond Park, while acknowledging the municipality’s interim measures to alleviate the situation for residents.
“Similar oversight visits will be conducted in other municipalities across the province to ensure that all municipalities are mobilized to accelerate the resolution of service delivery issues,” said Vass.
Meanwhile, Bartlett said: “We are pleased that Vass took the time to visit today, as it has provided us with an opportunity to engage on critical issues of service delivery.
“We value the support from COGHSTA and trust that such engagements will continue regularly so that we can work together to better serve our communities.”
Bartlett said the visit also aimed to reinforce intergovernmental coordination and improve service delivery, in line with the priorities of the 7th administration and the integration and partnership model set forth by the District Development Model (DDM).taungdailynews@gmail.com
Picture: The new NWHC Interim Board members/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
31 March 2025- The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi has appointed interim board members for the North West Housing Corporation (NHWC) with effect from 1 April 2025, until a new board is appointed. Molapisi has made appointments in terms of Section 3(2) of the North West Housing Corporation Act No 24 of 1982.
He further said the primary mission of the NWHC is to provide housing through development and property management. Molapisi added that he has appointed Dr Manketsi Tlhape, Kabelo Mataboge, Wendy Nelson, Dikeledi Moagi, Samuel Tsagae, Sarah Nkatlo, Seatlathebe Lepomane and Lenah Miga.
“In terms of Section 3(2) of the Act, I have designated Tlhape as the Chairperson of the Interim Board with Mataboge, serving as her Deputy. The interim board has been directed to lead review of the current Act and kickstart the process of filling the vacancy of the CEO, as the tenure of the incumbent ends in July 2025.
“Immediate focus will also be on the Smart and Mega Cities Project, including the Mahikeng Student City. We wish the interim board well in its efforts to assist the housing development mandate in the province,” he said.
Picture: The North West MEC for COGHSTA, Oageng Molapisi/Supplied
By KEDIBONE MOLAETSI
26 March 2025- The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi has called on senior managers of the department to ensure the institutionalisation of District Development Model (DDM), to address challenges faced by municipalities in the province. Molapisi was addressing the strategic planning session of COGTA, held recently in Mahikeng to draft plans with clear targets, aimed at changing the face of local government and upscale support to institutions of traditional councils.
He further said service delivery challenges that as experienced by the communities, rest on ineffective local government. Molapisi added that, many municipalities lack the technical skill and resources to deal with unmaintained roads, frequent disruption in the supply of water and electricity, uncollected refuse as well as sewerage that runs in the streets.
“I demand immediate actions on amongst others the filling of vacant funded positions, inputs to the White Paper on Local Government, finalisation of policy on Traditional Leadership, particularly on issues of coronational and tools of trades as directed.
“The department must play a leading role in the institutionalisation of the DDM as the key vehicle for service delivery. We will host the local government focused summit soon to discuss how best we can institutionalise the DDM approach. The DDM is more than a policy. It is a call to honour our constitution,” he said.
Molapisi said they must never tire, but continue to work to resolve key challenges in the municipalities. He said they might consider aligning their strategic documents with One District Plans.
“We must also develop a tool to monitor the implementation of DDM across four districts. We need to take the lead in ensuring full participation of National and Provincial champions. We must ensure DDM champions take the lead in various interventions and programmes within their respective deployments.
“Local Economic Development leg of our interventions will also be upscaled to deal with socio-economic challenges faced by different communities. The priorities of the government include driving inclusive growth and job creation, to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living and to build a capable, ethical and developmental state,” said Molapisi.
He said, therefore, they need a leverage on this commitment to improve the state of local economic development in the municipalities. Molapisi said all officials were urged to do everything humanly possible to ensure that “Every Municipality Must Work” as local government it is the closest sphere of government to the people. taungdailynews@gmail.com
13 March 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass on Thursday, met with the Implementing Agents (IAs) and contractors appointed for the 1 Billion Rand Housing Project for the Northern Cape, launched by President Cyril Ramaphosa and Northern Cape Premier, Dr Zamani Saul, in January 2024.
Vass said the project was launched to address the huge housing backlog in the Northern Cape and will deliver a total of 2500 units as part of the first phase of the project, across 13 local municipalities, in the 5 districts of the province. He further said the meeting was part of ongoing engagements with the contractors to address delays in the building process that may delay the delivery of these houses to the beneficiaries.
“There is a need for contractors to accelerate the pace and to meet their contractual obligations and agreed timelines. We are not going to tolerate undue delays or shoddy workmanship, because our communities deserve good quality houses, sooner than later, from this government.
“We are monitoring your performances closely across the five districts, and we are going to ultimately terminate non-performing contractors because we cannot continue at this slow pace,’’ said Vass.
He added that two Implementing Agents (IAs) and nineteen contractors, were appointed by the department in 2024 to be part of this project. Vass said the IAs are responsible for overseeing the entire project.
“They committed to monitoring the contractors closely and to apply necessary proactive measures to prevent any delays,” he said.
Picture: MECs for COGHSTA from various provinces/Supplied
By REGINALD KANYANE
13 March 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass said he had joined other MECs of Human Settlements, from other provinces, hosted by the Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, visited Conradie Park, in Pinelands, Western Cape, as a build up to the MINMEC (Minister and MECs) Meeting, hosted in Cape Town, today. Conradie Park is an integrated human settlements development expected to yield 3500 residential units of which 1715 of them will be allocated to the Social Housing Programme and First Home Finance.
Vass said the fully integrated precinct development will on completion include two schools, an Early Childhood Development (ECD) facility, retail and commercial space and recreational facilities. He said he was joined by the Head of the Department (HoD), Bafedile Lenkoe, Chief Director for Human Settlements, Mr Gratitude Booysen and Head of Ministry (HoM), Mayenzeke Mbekushe, at this important MINMEC.
“The MINMEC will discuss a wide range of issues related to Human Settlements including, the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) performance by Provinces and Metro Municipalities; progress that has been made in the upgrading of Informal Settlements to Phase 3 (final phase) of the Informal Settlements Upgrading Program as per the National Housing Code of 2009, progress report on the Military Veterans Housing Programme (MVHP).
“This includes an account of the emergency housing operations for the 2024/25 financial year. The Human Settlements MINMEC is a strategic high-level meeting between the Minister and the MECs to discuss critical matters related to human settlements development throughout the country,” said Vass.
Picture: North West MEC for COGHSTA, Oageng Molapisi during community engagement/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
11 March 2025- The North West MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Oageng Molapisi said the anticipated Moshawane housing project will soon get off the ground, bringing a significant amount of excitement and interest from the local community. Molapisi said this during his recent engagement with the community of Moshawane village to address the housing backlog.
Molapisi also highlighted that the Ratlou Local Municipality has prioritised the Moshawane village in its Integrated Development Programme (IDP), which was forwarded to the Department of Human Settlements for construction that includes land ownership, budget and compliance, norms and standards as well as relevant legislation programmes. He assured the community that the housing project will soon take place in their village.
“Our department has made a commitment to build 100 housing units in the village with a total budget of R20 million and all the necessary processes towards the commencement of the project have been made. The project will be announced after the budget speech.
“The department will come for Sod-turning ceremony after the announcement of the departmental budget speech. This project must be an opportunity for job creation, sub-contracting must be given to the community members who have the capacity and knowledge to do the job,” he said.
Molapisi further said his department needs to ensure that the beneficiaries who were approved are available so that the department doesn’t encounter problems during allocation time. He added that most of the elderly people live in shacks and mud houses.
“So, it is the responsibility of the department to ensure that elderly people are prioritised, as well as People Living with Disabilities and Child-Headed families,” said Molapisi.
One of the elderly people, Peloyareng Modisakeng (74) said that he is happy that the Molapisi came to their village and he is looking forward to the project because he is old now and doesn’t have a proper home for his family.
A community leader, Goodwin Maphutshi (45), appreciated the report from the Molapisi as they have been longing for development within their village. Maphutshi said the project will clarify the dilemma making rounds within the village as many community members felt that the government has neglected them.
Meanwhile the Manager for Ngaka Modiri Molema District in the Department, Macmillan Keboneilwe said the marching orders from the MEC are clear that this project must be completed in the coming financial year of 2025/26. He said they will closely monitor the project to ensure that it will be timeously completed and emerging businesses and community members of Moshawane will benefit not only in getting houses but also in job opportunities coming out of the project.
Picture: The Northern Cape MEC for COGHSTA, Bentley Vass on oversight visits/Supplied
By REGINALD KANYANE
11 March 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass, has embarked on oversight visits in Perth and Heuningvlei, where the One Billion Rand Housing Project will commence. The project was launched by the Republic of South Africa (RSA) president, Cyril Ramaphosa in January 2024.
Vass who was accompanied by the executive mayor of the John Taolo Gaetsewe District, Pulane Mogatle-Thoane, the District Municipality Speaker, Ephraim Aiseng, the Joe Morolong Local Municipality mayor, Dineo Leutlwetse-Tshabalala, Kgosikgolo Hastings Jantjie and Kgosikgolo Pule Bareki, and several councillors, also had community engagement with the housing beneficiaries in Heuningvlei.
“We briefed the delegation on the housing project for the JTG District and its progress. Over 500 houses will be built in Joe Morolong Municipality as part of the One Billion Rand Housing Project to address the housing backlog in the JTG District.
“This provided us with a first-hand opportunity to observe the progress in the JTG District and to engage with the contractors responsible for the area. The successful visit was concluded with a community meeting, where we engaged 200 housing beneficiaries at the Heuningvlei Community Hall,” he said.
Vass further said as the Northern Cape Provincial Government (NCPG, they intend to expedite the One Billion Rand Housing Project and ensure that the beneficiaries receive their quality houses sooner. He added that, to this end, they receive a weekly progress report, and the Human Settlements team is working closely with the contractors to ensure adherence to the project timelines.
“A follow-up meeting between COGHSTA, the Traditional Council, and the District and Local Municipality, will take place to address some of the challenges highlighted by members of the community, including beneficiary administration and job opportunities and sub-contracting issues.
“Following the briefing, we handed over two houses to Albert Mothobi and Selita Nkgari’s family in Churchhill. These two families were assisted after news reports on the dire state of their mud houses,” said Vass.
Picture: The Northern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass/Supplied
By BAKANG MOKOTO
20 February 2025- The Northern Cape MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs (COGHSTA), Bentley Vass said he hosted a successful special MUNIMEC (Municipalities and MEC) meeting to discuss critical issues affecting local government in Springbok on 19 February 2025.
Bass said the MUNIMEC is a strategic meeting of the MEC with Executive Mayors/Mayors, and Municipal Managers, to discuss and resolve critical issues affecting the local government sphere.
He further said a total of 29 out of 31 municipalities in the Northern Cape, attended the special MUNIMEC. Bass added that, the presentations made included a report on the ward configuration process led by the Municipal Demarcation Board (MDB) in preparation for the 2026 Local Government Elections.
“We also received a presentation on the progress made by municipalities to adopt the standard draft by-laws for the registration of businesses, the spending by municipalities on the Municipal Infrastructure Grant (MIG) and the revenue enhancement strategies of municipalities.
“We are happy that during the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) presented by President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this month, progressive pronouncements were made, including relooking at the funding model of local government, to ensure modern and fit-for-purpose local sphere of government,” he said.
Vass urged the local government leadership in the province to fully take part in all the processes that will unfold affecting local government, emanating from the president speech during the SoNA. He also announced that the provincial cabinet is finalising plans to host the Northern Cape Local Government Summit.
The Guardian 