Human Settlements Minister Thembi Simelane has commended provincial Human Settlements MECs for ensuring that provinces and metros are on track to use their 2025/2026 allocations to accelerate the delivery of adequate housing and improve household living conditions.

Delivering her opening remarks at the final meeting of the Minister and MECs (MinMEC) of 2025, held on Friday at the Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality in the Eastern Cape, Simelane highlighted strong progress in expenditure patterns.

By the end of September, the provinces had spent R7.36 billion of the R14.15 billion allocated through the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG), and R1.6 billion of the R2.8 billion provided through the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG).

This reflects spending of just over 52% for the HSDG and almost 60% ISUPG spent between April and September 2025.

Simelane said the spending performance demonstrate a significant improvement compared to previous years, when underspending in some provinces delayed access to decent housing for many vulnerable communities.

She noted the Free State as a standout performer, noting its 85% expenditure on the ISUPG and 65% on the HSDG, following several years of struggling to meet its spending targets.

“We are encouraged that provinces are seized with restoring people’s dignity. The delivery of 9,682 serviced sites against the 14,525 target and 18,068 housing units against the 2025/2026 target of 39,436, is a clear indication that we are on the right track. This demonstrates our determination to achieve our five-year delivery targets, such as 237,000 units and 314,000 serviced sites,” Simelane said.

The MinMEC also urged metropolitan municipalities to ensure full expenditure of their grants, over R9 billion through the Urban Settlements Development Grant (USDG) and R4.7 billion through the Informal Settlement Partnership Grant (ISPG) by July 2026.

The meeting emphasised that every unspent rand translates to a family whose dignity is not restored. A special MinMEC meeting with all metro mayors will be convened early in 2026 to address risks associated with under-expenditure.

Emergency housing response

The meeting received an update on the state of preparedness to respond to disasters in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape and the Eastern Cape, as well as a report on emergency housing interventions delivered between April and September 2025, countrywide.

During this period, 2 167 Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) were dispatched to affected households. KwaZulu-Natal received the largest allocation with 979 units, followed by the Eastern Cape with 595 units.

However, MinMEC expressed concern that outstanding emergency housing requests currently exceed the number of interventions delivered in the past six months.

The MinMEC welcomed the National Treasury’s allocation of additional resources, most of which will support interventions in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.

The meeting also commended the department’s progress in phasing out TRUs in favour of permanent housing solutions. The new approach will be piloted in the Eastern Cape.

Disaster-prone provinces, working with the national department, have already begun preparing for expected weather-related incidents during this period.

Measures include profiling informal settlements in high-risk areas, identifying Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEA) sites near vulnerable communities, strengthening operational capacity, and engaging strategic partners to ensure rapid response throughout holiday-season.

Other issues discussed at the final MinMEC for 2025 included preparations for the Innovative Building Technology (IBT) Summit, scheduled for 03–04 February 2026, progress on the title deeds restoration programme, and South Africa’s reporting obligations under the New Urban Agenda.

Originally posted on SAnews.gov.za