Gauteng may be SA’s smallest province at just 1.5% of the country’s land area, but it shoulders 16-million people and an apartheid-era housing crisis that continues to affect many residents.
The province’s population has grown from about 8-million in 1996 to over 16.1-million today, driven by high levels of domestic and international migration. We expect it to exceed 18-million by 2030.
Like any economic hub, Gauteng struggles to accommodate its growing population while also addressing the legacy of apartheid-era housing policies that separate opportunity by race and geography.
South Africa’s constitution, under Section 26, grants every citizen the right to adequate housing and requires the state to take reasonable steps to realise this right over time.
The Gauteng government sees this not only as a constitutional duty but also as an opportunity to provide decent housing and correct one of apartheid’s most enduring legacies: a housing crisis that the system deliberately engineered by denying black families the right to permanent, dignified and well-located shelter.
That is why we have moved from talk to co-ordinated action. The Gauteng Human Settlements Spatial Masterplan, supported by a multi-year project pipeline, co-ordinates development across the city region, ensuring new housing goes up close to jobs, transport and essential services.
Over five years, we have delivered 29,426 housing units through the mega-projects programme, proving what large-scale, integrated planning can achieve
Our urban renewal efforts revive neglected areas. In Bekkersdal, over 14km each of water and sewer pipes were installed in the last financial year, connecting 900 households. Similar upgrades are under way in Evaton and Alexandra.
But the most significant shift comes from our focus on mega projects, large developments with at least 15,000 housing units each. Unlike the scattered, underserviced RDP developments of the past, these mega projects cluster homes near rail lines, industrial zones and schools, actively reversing apartheid’s design of isolating black families on urban peripheries.
Over five years, we have delivered 29,426 housing units through the mega-projects programme, proving what large-scale, integrated planning can achieve.
Overall, we have created 81,913 housing opportunities since 2021. Based on the average South African household size of 3.4 people, this means more than a quarter of a million residents have benefited.
These opportunities include serviced sites, such as those provided through the flagship Ikageleng Rapid Land Release Programme, which allows approved beneficiaries to build their own homes.
The figure of 81,913 should be understood in relation to the actual verified backlog of 293,000 approved beneficiaries, applicants who passed the Housing Subsidy System screening. In contrast, the often cited 1.4-million backlog refers to unverified applications on the National Housing Needs Register.
During verification, applicants are disqualified for reasons such as already owning a title deed, having previously benefited from government housing, misrepresenting marital or dependent status or exceeding the income threshold.
Given the province’s housing shortage, these figures may seem insufficient. But this view mistakes speed for value and ignores the need to balance quantity and quality. What often gets overlooked is that each housing unit costs about R300,000 on average.
For residents who lived in cramped, poor conditions for decades, these changes mean more than just fixing buildings; they restore dignity and improve daily life
Reaching this number of units at that cost reflects a deliberate choice to prioritise solid construction, basic services and legal ownership, rather than simply raising the unit count with low-quality shelters.
Another key achievement, one that changes lives, is registering and issuing title deeds. Secure land rights matter because they support both human dignity and economic growth. A title deed transforms a family from state tenants into property owners. It gives them an asset they can use as collateral, pass down to their children, or leverage to escape poverty.
The province has worked hard to clear the backlog of title deeds. This backlog arose from several issues: poor land records, unfinished townships from the apartheid era, problems with informal property deals, and estates that were never properly resolved.
In addition, deeds offices lack sufficient staff and equipment. Converting old leasehold or permission-to-occupy documents into full ownership has also moved very slowly.
Over the past five years, we have registered about 29,394 title deeds for different groups, including women, youth and people with disabilities. For each family, this single document opens opportunities that remained out of reach for decades.
The province has also made progress upgrading hostels, converting old buildings into proper family homes with private ownership. We have completed basic infrastructure assessments for all provincial hostels, and major repairs and redevelopment are now under way in priority areas.
For residents who lived in cramped, poor conditions for decades, these changes mean more than just fixing buildings; they restore dignity and improve daily life.
However, despite this visible progress, several challenges remain. These include:
- high demand that continues to outpace supply;
- a shortage of serviced land;
- poor contractor performance;
- community protests;
- extortion by criminal groups; and
- delays in municipal approvals.
All these factors slow down project delivery.
By working together, residents can help protect these essential assets and ensure they do what they were meant to do: give every Gauteng family not just a house but a home with dignity
In response, the government introduced a six-part turnaround plan focused on:
- governance;
- financial management;
- organisational changes;
- technology;
- integrated planning; and
- project delivery.
Early results are emerging, and partnerships are beginning to form. One clear sign of progress: the department has received a clean audit opinion for three consecutive years, demonstrating real improvement in accountability.
What is not in doubt is our commitment to making the constitutional promise a reality: everyone deserves a dignified, safe and hopeful place to call home. That means investing in fair housing policies, protecting renters, and supporting sustainable development so that no community is left behind.
This commitment turns a basic right into daily life, recognising that shelter is not a privilege but an essential part of human dignity.
We urge Gauteng residents to join us as active partners in fighting corruption, because protecting public resources is everyone’s responsibility. The illegal sale of RDP houses directly harms government efforts to provide proper housing and support long-term economic growth.
By working together, residents can help protect these essential assets and ensure they do what they were meant to do: give every Gauteng family not just a house but a home with dignity.
The true test of post-apartheid housing is not how many units Gauteng builds, but whether future generations inherit cities that no longer separate opportunity by race and geography.
- Lesufi is the premier of Gauteng.
Panyaza Lesufi
www.timeslive.co.za
