Minister Thembi Simelane addresses meeting of the Minister and MECs of Human Settlements (MinMEC)

The Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, has praised Human Settlements MECs for ensuring that provinces and metros respond to the call to use the 2025/2026 allocated funds to accelerate the delivery of adequate housing and improve the quality of household life. 

Delivering her opening remarks at the final 2025 meeting of the Minister and MECs of Human Settlements (MinMEC) during the calendar year 2025, Simelane noted strong progress in expenditure patterns. By the end of September 2025, provinces had spent R7.36 billion of the R14.15 billion on the Human Settlements Development Grant (HSDG) and R1.6 billion of the R2.8 billion allocated through the Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership Grant (ISUPG). This represents just over 52% HSDG and almost 60% ISUPG spent between April and September 2025. 

The results demonstrate a significant improvement compared to previous years, when some provinces underspent their grants, consequently delaying decent shelter for vulnerable communities. A notable performer thus far is the Free State, which has achieved 85% expenditure on the ISUPG and 65% on HSDG, following several years of struggling to meet its spending targets. 

“We are encouraged that provinces are seized with restoring people’s dignity. The delivery of 9,682 serviced sites against the 14,525 target and 18,068 housing units against the 2025/2026 target of 39,436 is a clear indication that we are on the right track. This demonstrates our determination to achieve our five-year delivery targets, such as 237,000 units and 314,000 serviced sites”, said Minister Thembi Simelane. 

The MinMEC further urged Metropolitan Municipalities to ensure full expenditure of their grants, over R9 billion Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) and R4.7 billion Informal Settlement Partnership Grant (ISPG) are spent by July 2026. The meeting emphasised that every rand unspent translates to a family whose dignity is not restored. A special MinMEC meeting with all metropolitan mayors will be convened early in 2026 to mitigate risks associated with under expenditure. 

MinMEC also received a report on the state of preparedness to respond to disasters in KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape, as well as an update on emergency housing interventions delivered between April and September 2025, countrywide. During this period, 2167 Temporary Residential Units (TRUs) were dispatched to distressed households. KwaZulu-Natal received the highest allocation with 979 units, followed by the Eastern Cape with 595 units. 

The meeting expressed a concern that the outstanding emergency housing requests currently exceed the number of interventions delivered in the past six months. However, MinMEC welcomed the National Treasury’s allocation of additional resources, the majority of which will support interventions in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. 

Notably, the meeting also commended the progress made on the department’s plan to phase out TRUs and prioritise permanent housing solutions instead of TRUs. This approach will be piloted in the Eastern Cape. 

Disaster-prone provinces, in collaboration with the National Department of Human Settlements, have begun preparations for potential weather-related incidents expected during this period. These measures include profiling informal settlements in high-risk areas, identifying Temporary Emergency Accommodation (TEAs) near vulnerable communities, increasing operational capacity, and engaging strategic partners to ensure rapid response throughout the holiday season. 

Other items discussed at the final MinMEC of 2025 included preparations for the Innovative Building Technology (IBT) Summit scheduled from 03 to 04 February 2026, progress on the title deeds restoration programme and South Africa’s report on the New Urban Agenda. 
Ends

Enquiries: 

Tsekiso Machike, Spokesperson to the Minister 
Cell: 077 410 5050 
E-mail: Tsekiso.machike@dhs.gov.za  

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