06/09/2026
GOVERNMENT RETURNS TO KROONSTAD WITH SOLUTIONS AS 4 767 SERVICED SITES READY FOR ALLOCATION
KROONSTAD | The Free State Provincial Government has returned to Kroonstad to begin addressing challenges raised by the community earlier this year, with MEC for COGTA and Human Settlements, Saki Mokoena, reaffirming government’s commitment to finding practical solutions and ensuring a fair and transparent allocation process.
Earlier this year, MEC Mokoena, together with Free State Premier Maqueen Letsoha-Mathae, held a community meeting in Kroonstad where residents raised a number of concerns relating to housing, serviced sites and service delivery. The MEC committed to returning to the community with solutions.
Today, that commitment was honoured as government returned to Kroonstad to provide an update and outline the way forward.
Mokoena announced that the Department will commence an allocation process covering all wards in Kroonstad, with officials expected to provide proper reports on the process and beneficiaries.
The MEC emphasised that the allocation of sites and houses would be guided by eligibility, established categories and fairness, with vulnerable groups, including elderly and persons with disabilities, prioritised.
“It would be unfair to allocate people who aren’t from Kroonstad, and if it is found that they are, they will be sidelined. There will also be no nepotism with this process because this is how the problems begin,” said Mokoena.
The Department has already taken steps to establish a database of residents requiring housing and serviced sites. Through the Human Settlements mobile truck and officials deployed to Kroonstad, residents were registered, with 7 009 people reported to be eligible for housing and serviced sites.
The MEC further explained that the Department has developed specific categories to guide the allocation process and ensure that those who qualify are considered according to established criteria.
Of the 5 300 sites forming part of the project, 4 767 have been fully serviced and are ready for allocation, while work continues on sites that remain incomplete.
The next phase of the process will begin on Tuesday, when departmental officials will be in Ward 3 to undertake allocations based on the list compiled during the Department’s previous registration drive.
For Premier Letsoha-Mathae, the return to Kroonstad was particularly significant given the frustration expressed by residents during the earlier community engagement.
The Premier acknowledged that some community members may question whether the intensified service delivery is linked to the upcoming elections. However, she rejected this notion, emphasising that the work of the 7th Administration has been ongoing throughout its term.
She also announced plans for a government integrated services outreach programme in Kroonstad, where stakeholders including Home Affairs, SASSA, the Department of Employment and Labour and health services will be brought directly to the community.
The initiative is intended to make government services more accessible and reduce the burden on residents who often have to spend an entire day in different government offices in search of assistance.
The Premier also expressed pride in the performance of the Free State Department of Human Settlements, noting that the President had recognised the province’s progress and quick turnaround in the delivery of housing.
She called on government leaders to remain honest and transparent with communities, cautioning against making promises that cannot be fulfilled.
Reflecting on the progress in Kroonstad, the Premier commended the community for not resorting to illegally allocating sites to themselves and expressed her pride in MEC Mokoena and the departmental officials for ensuring that residents are now receiving fully serviced sites.
“Mamello e Tswala Katleho.” — Patience bears success.
The Premier further called on municipalities to submit reports detailing companies that were awarded government contracts but failed to complete their projects.
She stressed that government must take action against incompetent service providers, warning that when contractors fail to deliver, communities often hold government responsible rather than the individual companies contracted to execute the work.
The Kroonstad intervention therefore represents more than the completion of serviced sites. It is a demonstration of government’s responsibility to listen to communities, honour commitments, act against poor performance and ensure that public resources translate into tangible benefits for residents.
