By REGINALD KANYANE
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.
The Guardian 