The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements has welcomed plans to address the housing challenges faced by people living in the country’s mining towns.

Human Settlement’s chief director, Julie Bayat, informed the committee that the project was a joint effort in partnership with other departments such as the Departments of Mineral Resources, Cooperative Governance and Labour as well as Human Settlements provincial departments.

Bayat has indicated that a budget of R1,6 billion for the 2013/14 financial year has been set aside for the upgrading of 15 159 informal settlement sites as well as the erection of 9755 new units across the country’s mining towns.

Bayat has also informed the committee that their focus to date had been in the area of Bojanala District Municipality as informed by the Marikana situation. She stated that the plan was to upgrade a total of 25 419 households of the 115 informal settlements found in the district, totalling to a budget of R394 million.

The committee members were however concerned that the focus was seemingly given to one province, adding that these interventions should have been simultaneously applied to other provinces such as the Northern Cape which has a booming mining potential.

Another concern of the Committee was related to the Lephalale, being part of the current project whereas the area had already been identified as a priority project in previous financial years and took time to take off the ground.