Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tshipane has handed 200 government-subsidised houses to the destitute families at Casteel village, in the Bushbuckridge local municipality, through the Enhanced People’s Housing Process (ePHP).
The houses were received mostly by women, as well as child-headed households.
The handover was accompanied by the launch of a community gardening initiative.
“We brought all the necessities to make sure that they can start up their food gardening to prevent malnutrition in our communities," the Premier said.
She said the provincial government wanted to encourage women to take an interest in farming.
“We want to first train women in their own backyards and later on we will group them into cooperatives and offer them land, preparing them to be commercial farmers.”