24 February 2006

South Africa is to help the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) get back on its feet after years of turmoil, by sharing its expertise and experiences with that country as it tries to meet the challenge of housing and human settlement.

Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu made the announcement after signing a memorandum of understanding with her DRC counterpart, John Tibasim, in Rustenburg in North West province on Thursday.

She said the agreement followed bilateral agreements signed between President Thabo Mbeki and President Joseph Kabila to assist the DRC.

South Africa will share its knowledge on areas of micro-finance, saving linked credit schemes for housing, and informal settlement upgrading and urban renewal.

The two countries will also exchange technical and scientific information through the formation of a joint technical implementation committee. The committee will develop a special plan of action in order to implement tasks falling within areas identified in the agreement.

Sisulu said the DRC needed to put up systems and lay foundations by developing housing policies. "We thought it was important to offer our help to our neighbouring countries in fighting poverty," she said.

She said as much as South Africa had its own housing backlog, it needed to transfer its skills and experience to the DRC.

The DRC Housing Minister said the signing of the memorandum was a building block that would help his country develop its capacity to deliver houses to its nation. Already, President Kabila had paved the way to improve the living conditions there, with a new constitution, he said.

But he also appealed on the private sector to join hands.

"We call on South African companies and property developers to also come on board and share their experience and innovation. We have an enormous challenge in housing and we need South Africa's help to provide better houses for our people," Tibasim said.

He said the World Bank had allocated R110-million to develop houses in that country.

Tibasim is in South Africa to study the government's administration of housing, implementation by various spheres of government, financing and planning of human settlement, policymaking and statutes.

Source: BuaNews

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	Department of Housing

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