Minister Outlines Efforts to Increase Home Loans in South Africa

December 3 - The South African Human Settlements Minister, Tokyo Sexwale outlined the government's efforts to increase South African home loans to as many people as possible, aiming to provide 600,000 new loans in the affordable housing sector within 4 years.

Sexwale said that one of the main objectives of his ministry was to ensure that there was no discrimination by banks on those people it was awarding loans to.

"This is primarily achieved through the Home Loans and Mortgage Disclosure Act, which enables us to monitor discriminatory lending practices," he said.

"In doing so, it also enables us to leverage the creation of more integrated suburbs."

The government's Gap Fun also aimed to make available R1 billion to ensure hundreds of thousands of new loans in the affordable housing sector in the coming years.

The minister is particularly active in making loans available to South Africans who earn too much to qualify for government housing subsidies, but too little to qualify for bank loans.

"The Fund is aimed squarely at nurses, teachers, police, prison warders, government officials, certain categories of management, and blue collar factory and office workers," said Sexwale.

Another aim of the government is to reduce risk to banks and other lenders so that market confidence could be stimulated.

Other projects undertaken by the Ministry include the investment in inner city renewal projects.

"We are financially supporting the renovation and refurbishment of a number of buildings in the Johannesburg inner city, through our National Housing Finance Corporation, and have partnered with the private sector in other centers including Durban, Pretoria and East London," he said.

12/3/2010 1:02:50 PM