The Limpopo Provincial Government has put aside R10 million to build houses for veterans of the military struggle.

This was announced by the MEC for Local Government and Housing, Ms Maite Nkoana Mashabane, during a media networking session held at Thandabantu Lodge, Polokwane, at the weekend. She was addressing municipality communication practitioners and journalists from different media houses.

Mashabane said as a democratic government, they care for military veterans who in the past were willing to give up their lives for freedom. “They have played a role in our liberation struggle and deserve to be rewarded in return,” she said.

She further added that her department had also awarded an additional 50 local economic development projects across all sectors. “Implementation of the projects has commenced and a total of R125 million has already been disbursed. As part of strengthening local economies, we assisted municipalities with their local economic development (LED) strategies. We have set ourselves a target of ensuring that all municipalities have credible LED strategies by the end of this year.”

The MEC said in the spirit of promoting ownership of houses, her department will hand over 3 327 title deeds to beneficiaries, who were occupying houses that previously belonged to the state. She added: “It is against this backdrop that we are geared towards redressing the imbalances of the past, where our people were given 100-year leases by the apartheid government. The handing over of these title deeds signals the intention of our democratic government to bring dignity to our people to build a caring society.”

Mashabane said an assessment of performance of municipalities has revealed that municipalities are still grappling with financial management and viability, to an extent that the department has assisted six Project Consolidate municipalities with the development of revenue enhancement strategies. “We continue to assist municipalities to develop credible billing systems to improve their revenue base. We shall focus on the development of review strategies for municipalities at a cost of R4 million. We are also assisting five municipalities (Mopani, Molemole, Fetakgomo, Polokwane, Mutale) with the development of valuation rolls at a cost of R1,5 million.”