MHLONTLO – A total of 56 vulnerable families in the Kumkani Mhlontlo Local Municipality will spend Christmas 2026 in newly built homes after Human Settlements MEC Siphokazi Lusithi handed them over as part of the Mhlontlo Destitute 210 project.

The handover is part of the department’s intervention to provide beneficiaries with safer, more secure and dignified homes.

The families benefited from the Mhlontlo Destitute 210, a Human Settlements project providing for the construction of 210 houses for households living in mud and other unsafe structures across all 26 wards of the municipality.

Lusithi said that the Eastern Cape government had invested a total of R65 million in the project.

“Today’s handover is about restoring dignity and giving vulnerable families the opportunity to live in safe and decent homes. This handover is worth celebrating because it was handed over to and implemented by local Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs).

“The material that has been bought has been primarily sourced within the local municipality, reinforcing our commitment that every investment that the government makes into the space must go towards development of local SMMEs, towards creating work opportunities and towards creating black industrialists in that local municipality,” said Lusithi.

The project also contributed to local economic development through the participation of SMMEs in the construction programme.

“A total of eight SMMEs were appointed to participate in the implementation of the project, creating opportunities for local businesses to contribute to the delivery of government’s human settlements programmes,” Lusithi said.

One of the lives changed by the project is that of Andisiwe Nqweniso (43). Nqweniso, an unemployed mother of three, passed her matric in 2003 and moved between odd jobs, leaving her unable to properly invest in her children’s education.

She, her husband and their children had been living in a two-room mud structure that had deteriorated significantly and was identified as being in poor condition.

“We are very grateful for this house. Living in the mud structure was difficult, especially knowing that our children were growing up in those conditions. This new home gives us hope and a place where our family can live safely and with dignity. We appreciate the department for changing our lives,” said Nqweniso.

“We don’t work, and we are dependent on the government’s child support grant for the three children. Of that money I have to pay for school transport at a cost of R750.

“The rest of the money goes to household responsibilities. I would love to get a job so that I can invest in the education of my children and make sure they study beyond the matric that I have,” she explained.

The completion and handover of the first 56 houses marks significant progress towards the overall target of 260 houses in the municipality.

This is not an isolated project, as the department previously handed over 130 housing units to vulnerable families in the Port St Johns Local Municipality at a cost of R23 million.

The units formed part of Phase One of Project 350, which aimed at building 350 housing units in the Port St Johns municipal area.

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