President Ramaphosa To Launch R1 Billion Housing Project In Northern Cape

President Cyril Ramaphosa is all set to launch a housing project in the Northern Cape Province on Thursday that is expected to deliver more than 4,000 houses upon completion.

According to the statement issued on X, formerly known as Twitter, the housing project in Kimberley City aims to provide some 4,168 houses, with at least 2,500 of those to be delivered within the next year.

"During the launch, the President will perform a sod-turning ceremony at a site secured by the Department of Human Settlements," it stated. "This location will host fully subsidized houses and diverse housing opportunities, including First Home Finance and social housing."

This project is being launched by the Northern Cape provincial government in collaboration with the National Treasury, which sought a R600 million loan from the Development Bank of South Africa to supplement its baseline grant allocation for housing.

"The housing units established in this project will address the pressing need for housing opportunities in the province, where approximately 162 informal settlements and nearly 80,000 households lack adequate housing," it added.

Currently, there are 18,000 serviced stands across the province, getting ready for the construction of housing structures.

The announcement was made on Wednesday and on the same day, Ramaphosa chaired a meeting of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) to discuss current economic developments and measures to support economic growth and job creation.

During the meeting, the PEAC highlighted areas that are becoming a hurdle in South Africa's growth including fiscal risks, the poor performance of state-owned enterprises, ongoing load shedding, historical underinvestment in infrastructure and an increase in crime rate.

On the other hand, PEAC members appreciated the progress that has been made so far to advance economic reform including in the energy, transport and telecommunications sectors.

Earlier this week, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana noted that South Africa is committed in bringing structural reforms in the areas of electricity, infrastructure, water and logistics to boost the country's economy during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting.

The annual World Economic Forum will be held in Davos, Switzerland, from Jan. 15 to Jan. 19 and it will be focused on rebuilding trust.