×

We've got news for you.

Register on SowetanLIVE at no cost to receive newsletters, read exclusive articles & more.
Register now

Houses for miners

Thousands of Anglo American Platinum (Amplats) workers will get free houses to be built by the company, the human settlements department says

“Amplats will build 12,000 houses in the North West and 8,000 in Limpopo over the next 10 years,” the department said in a statement.

The dwellings would be built at a cost of R1.4 billion as part of the each-one-settle-one campaign announced by Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale in September.

The campaign was aimed at mobilising South African companies, especially JSE-listed entities, to help the government address the housing backlog, estimated at more than 2.3 million units.

“We don’t want to see our workers living in isolation, but to be  part of the integrated communities where our company operates,” Amplats CEO Neville Nicolau said in the statement.

He was speaking at the during a ceremony held at Northam in Limpopo on Monday.

The main reason for the housing provision was to encourage and promote ownership among the company’s workers.

Addressing the audience at the event, Sexwale said the campaign was beginning to bear fruit.

“We need each other as corporate and the government. It is through these partnerships that we can succeed as a country.”   

Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.

Speech Bubbles

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.