By Thapelo Molefe
Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has acknowledged that the department’s previous focus on urban areas has left rural areas with numerous challenges.
Kubayi was speaking at the launch of the Human Settlements Research Strategy on Monday, which coincided with World Habitat Day.
“In the world that is undergoing rapid urbanisation, many villages are facing a series of problems such as depopulation, population ageing, insufficient infrastructure and public service facilities,” she said in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni.
“While most of our work has been focused on responding to the challenges of accessing urban land for human settlement, the sprouting of informal settlements and the rise of inner-city slums, the challenges of unsustainable human settlements in rural areas have received little or no attention.”
To address these issues, she said the department would prioritise applied research, focusing on tangible outcomes that positively impacted human settlement developments.
She emphasised the need
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