Pretoria - The vision of an integrated South Africa has been taken a step further by the Human Settlements minister, who on Monday committed to ensuring that "skin colour" will never be a deciding factor in where people get to stay.
"We have to bridge the divide between the Sowetos and Johannesburgs, the Cape Towns and Khayelitshas. Our task, ultimately, is to build a non-racial South Africa," said Minister Tokyo Sexwale.
Sexwale said his ministry was monitoring banks' lending patterns to ensure that there was no discrimination in the awarding of home loans.
In particular, they were guarding against the discrimination of those buying or building homes through the Home Loans and Mortgage Disclosure Act (HLAMDA), allowing the department to foster the creation of more integrated suburbs.
"The transformation of our cities and towns … is a priority for this ministry," said Sexwale.
Government is also assisting those caught in the gap market - earning too much to qualify for a government subsidy but too little to qualify for bank credit.
