By Thapelo Molefe
The Human Settlements Department has issued over 60,000 title deeds to homeowners since the launch of its “Title Deed Friday” campaign, marking a significant step in the government’s commitment to improving property ownership and access to housing.
Human Settlements Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi provided updates on the initiative during her response to questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
The campaign aims to hand over title deeds to residents who have been on the waiting list to be recognised as rightful owners. It is driven by all three spheres of government and chaired by the human settlements minister.
According to Kubayi, a total of 60,246 title deeds have been distributed across all nine provinces since the campaign’s inception on 6 October 2023.
She said these deeds have been handed over on a weekly basis every Friday, as part of a coordinated push to accelerate the release of title deeds to rightful beneficiaries.
“Since the start of this initiative, we have seen remarkable progress in the issuing of title deeds. The campaign has been crucial in fulfilling the government’s commitment to property ownership for South Africans,” Kubayi said.
The title deeds distributed to date include 1821 in Eastern Cape, 11,365 in Free State, 5698 in Gauteng, 7328 in KwaZulu-Natal, 1794 in Limpopo, 9742 in Mpumalanga, 237 in Northern Cape, 9943 in North West, and 12,318 in Western Cape.
While the distribution of title deeds marked a significant achievement, the minister highlighted that the broader challenge lay in the provision of adequate services for new housing developments.
She said the inability to deliver full housing services such as bulk water, sewage and road infrastructure has hindered the government’s ability to roll out new homes efficiently.
“The issue we face is that we can’t deliver houses unless we get the services right first. Without proper township planning and the installation of essential services, property ownership cannot be conferred,” Kubayi explained.
She went on to outline the department’s two-pronged approach to resolve these issues.
The first part of the strategy focuses on the transfer of 78,656 state-owned residential properties in seven metropolitan municipalities, which is set to begin in the 2025/26 financial year.
She said this transfer would address a backlog of homes that were already built, but have not been formally titled.
The second phase seeks to address the bottleneck in township planning by seeking exemptions from stringent service requirements under the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act and the National Environmental Management Act.
“We are pursuing waivers for existing settlements where rudimentary services are in place but don’t meet the full standards required by law. This will allow us to fast-track township proclamation and facilitate the issuing of title deeds,” Kubayi said.
The minister also emphasised that the department, in collaboration with Operation Vulindlela and various stakeholders, was working to resolve the intergovernmental challenges that impeded the progress of the project.
“Coordination with other departments, including Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development, is critical to overcoming these barriers,” she added.
Despite these ongoing challenges, the government remained committed to ensuring that all South Africans could realise their dream of home ownership, the minister said.
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