Ramaphosa says his 1 million homes promise for Alexandra in 2019 was misinterpreted

CAPE TOWN - President Cyril Ramaphosa said he was misunderstood in 2019 when it was believed he had promised one million houses to the residents of Alexandra.

Challenged by Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) president, Julius Malema, in Parliament on Thursday, Ramaphosa said he meant to say it was a countrywide target.

However, he acknowledged his administration’s failure to reach that target and to alleviate the plight of many who live in appalling conditions in the country’s informal areas.

Ramaphosa said that a recording of the address he made in Alexandra in 2019 would reveal that his one million homes promise was misinterpreted. 

Besides, he said, it’s not physically possible to build so many houses in Alexandra alone. 

"To the extent that it created that impression, I will say that I apologise for having made people believe that I meant for Alexandra. What I really meant was, yes, we would want to build a million houses for the whole country."

Nevertheless, he said that he took the plight of Alexandra residents very seriously and he’s acknowledged government’s failure since democracy to adequately address apartheid spatial planning. 

"We should have focused attention on to ensure the poorer people are able to live near where they work, where there are economic facilities and infrastructure." 

Ramaphosa said people were occupying vacant buildings in the cities out of desperation because local government was failing to spend all the money allocated for building homes.