East Cape housing’s R100m fillip

THE Eastern Cape Department of Human Settlements is set to gain R100-million from the national Treasury after other departments around the country failed to spend their grants.

This is to soften the R300-million blow it was dealt when the department’s budget was cut to be able to fund higher education and service government debt.

The department was yesterday allocated R2.4-billion to build 8 950 new houses in the province in 2018-19 and connect services to the sites.

Finance MEC Sakhumzi Somyo said yesterday that human settlements would benefit from the national Treasury’s R100-million fillip, which could be attributed to its positive performance.

“When we build these houses, we acknowledge that there shall be other amenities like sporting facilities, schools and libraries.

“This budget should be able to transform our society by building conscious and capable citizenry,” Somyo said.