Fact check: Did Ramaphosa promise to build a million homes in Alex?
dPresident Cyril Ramaphosa recently responded to unrest in Alexandra by claiming the government had built numerous homes for residents, and by promising more were on the way. Briefly.co.za investigates whether the president's claims were true or if they had been designed to mislead the community.
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President Cyril Ramaphosa recently took to the streets of Alexandra to see for himself what the standard of living in the protesting township was like.
During his address, Ramaphosa had not only claimed that the ANC-led government had built 4 million houses, but had promised a million more were on the way.
Briefly.co.za investigated the statements made by the campaigning president:
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1. Claim - “We have built more than 4 million houses.”
Verdict - Untrue
According to Africa Check, the most recent housing statistics have revealed Ramaphosa's claim to be incorrect.
The department of human settlements have confirmed that, since 1994, 3.3 million housing units were built.
These units include subsidised homes, rental accommodation and council houses where ownership had been granted.
2. Claim - Ramaphosa promises to build 1 million homes in Alexandra
Verdict - Untrue
Numerous media outlets reported that the president had promised the township a million homes will be built.
However, this was a distortion of the facts with Ramaphosa himself taking to social media to clarify the issue.
A number of news outlets reported that Ramaphosa promised to build 1 million houses in Alexandra. A recording of his speech shows this is incorrect:
“One million houses will be built and, here in Alexandra, we will look into the issue of land so that when we build houses, we build them in the correct manner.”
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Ramaphosa explained that the government intends to build 1 million homes nationwide over the next 5 years.
The Department of Human Settlements has not been able to confirm if such a plan exists. Alana Potter, director of research at the Socio-Economic Rights Institute, says that this seems like a mammoth task for the state:
“Looking back on our track record over the last 25 years… to do a million seems like quite a big ask. It would require a really rapid land release programme so they’d really need to move fast to get that happening.”
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Source: Briefly News
