North West Earmarks R1.12 Billion to Complete Blocked Housing Projects
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The North West Department of Human Settlements will direct about R1.12 billion, or 80% of its settlements budget, towards completing and unblocking stalled housing projects, as roughly 25,400 blocked houses await an estimated R4.6 billion.
The North West Department of Human Settlements has set aside the bulk of its 2026/27 settlements budget to rescue stalled and incomplete housing projects, Moneyweb reports, citing GroundUp. Of a budget of nearly R1.4 billion comprising the Human Settlements Development and Informal Settlements Upgrading Partnership grants, approximately R1.12 billion, or 80%, is directed towards the completion and unblocking of projects, while R279.5 million, or 20%, is available for new projects.
"This approach prioritises the completion of existing commitments and blocked projects while retaining a defined allocation for new human settlements interventions," NW DHS communications director Dineo Thapelo said. The figures underline the scale of the province's backlog: Human Settlements MEC Oageng Molapisi told parliament on 28 August 2026 that the North West has roughly 25,400 blocked houses requiring an estimated R4.6 billion to complete.
The human cost is visible in Delareyville's Tswaing Local Municipality. Agnes Maropeng has lived in a corrugated iron shack in the Skierlek informal settlement for more than 35 years, walking about three kilometres a day to collect water. In 2014, 60 new homes were to be built in Extension 7 at a cost of just under R7 million; after R6 million was spent, only half were completed and a 2026 report to parliament noted 30 homes left with only foundations and wall plates.
Construction at Extension 8, also started in 2014, consumed almost its entire R272 million budget to build about 1,000 houses that were never connected to water or sewers; the department says it needs another R176 million to finish the project and connect the homes to services. Satellite imagery indicates no new housing has been developed in Extension 7 since at least 2016, and a recent storm toppled the walls of many incomplete houses.
Poor workmanship compounds the problem. In Agisanang, a township bordering Sannieshof, residents such as Elisa Ditselanyane point to cracks in walls and foundations and unreliable water supply, with sewage clogging drainage pipes and running back into homes. In 2024 the South African Human Rights Commission found a "systemic and chronic" problem of incomplete and inadequate RDP houses in the North West, blaming the NW DHS for failing to appoint capable contractors, manage contracts and hold poor performers accountable.
On 23 September 2026 the SAHRC announced a further investigation into the human rights impact of delays in developing and upgrading informal settlements in the province, examining access to basic services, the causes and extent of delays and their effect on residents' rights. The department has not yet replied to follow-up questions about its plans and budget.