By The Free State Province, being at the centre of the country and bordering Lesotho, is faced with a serious challenge of informal settlements that are mushrooming across the province.
During his budget speech on Thursday, 23 April 2026, at Thabo Thokoza Secondary School in Bethlehem, the MEC for the Department of Human Settlements Mr Teboho Mokoena said progress to upgrade informal settlements in the province is hindered by a variety of factors, including influx migration and objections that have a racist undertone.
Mokoena tabled a R1.189 billion budget for the 2026/27 financial year, which is a decrease of 7.1% compared to the previous fiscus of R1. 279 billion. The grant to upgrade informal settlements is also cut down by a significant 30.5% from R162, 353 million in 2025/26, to 112, 839 million in 2026/27 financial year.
The budget cuts also put much pressure on the department to achieve its goals with little to work on. According to the MEC; the province currently has 189 informal settlements housing over 84 000 households; which is a major challenge for the province weighing heavy on the province’s economy and service delivery programme.
MEC Teboho Mokoena said factors contributing to the growing numbers include urbanisation from farming communities, coming of age and need to establish own families and general in migration from nearby provinces and neighbouring countries.
He said most of these informal settlements end up without basic services like water, sanitation, electricity and proper roads. Mokoena said the department’s focus as they upgrade these settlements is on in-situ upgrading, improving conditions where people live, while also identifying alternative sites where needed.
“In areas like Phambili Informal Settlements where we have identified an alternative site to relocate the residents to during implementation; progress has been slowed by objections against the development. Objections on their own are varied between those legitimate and those with pure racist undertones that seeks to say blacks must be kept in their township reserves and not anywhere near towns or white farms.
What puzzles us here the fact that a community of black people already resides in the area (17years) which simply requires formalization, not neglect. The department remains committed to a development that is properly planned, environmentally responsible and supported by appropriate infrastructure and we are willing to engage on these, anything that signals racist driven objections that are hidden behind some real challenges here will be rejected by us,” said MEC Mokoena.
“These objections must first be resolved urgently to allow the development to provide better living conditions for the phambili people. All role players including the municipality must ensure finality to this. A joint task team with COGTA and Municipality will be established to strengthen the application memoranda and address issues raised through objections,” he continued.
