Speaker, the ANC welcomes the handover of 50 ha of land by Lonmin to the North West'S department of human settlements, public safety and liaison on Monday 28 October 2013. The land consists of serviced sites to be used for a human settlement development in the Marikana area. This will support the government's human settlement initiatives, and assist the North West province to address the need for shelter and related services in the greater Marikana area.
The ANC has always believed that government must have a contract with business, communities and civil society to address the serious challenges caused by decades of underdevelopment and socially engineered spatial planning. The agreement will pave the way for the development of a new integrated human settlement comprising a mixture of high and low-density residential housing and rental stock, together with all associated municipal services and amenities.
The ANC believes that the people of Marikana deserve the right to live in dignity and therefore applauds this initiative by all three spheres of government. [Applause.]
