The Democratic Alliance (DA) received a commitment from the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Angie Motshekga, to secure vandalised properties allocated to the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in Postmasburg.
A DA oversight inspection last month, shone the spotlight on the state of military housing in the suburb of Postdene. Empty houses were occupied by vagrants and criminal elements who had caused significant damage, stripping them of windows, ceilings, cupboards and taps. Temporary trailer park homes, declared uninhabitable a decade ago, had also not been pulled down. This prompted us to call on the Minister for an intervention.
According to a parliamentary reply received by Ofentse Mokae, DA Northern Cape NCOP member (see here), guards have since been stationed at the military properties to curb vandalism and unauthorised occupation of houses not yet allocated to SANDF members. SANDF is allocated 182 properties in Postmasburg, of which 151 are allocated to SANDF members.
Motshekga further indicated that a conditional assessment of properties in Postmasburg was conducted in March 2025. A letter was also submitted to Loss Control to request authority to write off the burnt trailer park home in February 2025. The process for the disposal is still ongoing.
During the upcoming Debate on the Mid-Term Strategic Review of the SANDF by the Joint Standing Committee on Defence, Mokae will reiterate the DA’s call on the minister to speed up the disposal of all the trailer park homes, to prevent further loss of life. Two of the trailer park houses caught alight last year, allegedly due to electrical faults. The first fire destroyed an unoccupied park home while the second claimed the lives of the wife and daughter of a sergeant, stationed at the Lohatla military training area outside Postmasburg. Mokae will also put pressure on the minister to repair and neaten up its neglected properties, to instill pride in the town.
The DA will monitor progress in respect of the pending demolition of the trailer park homes and implementation of promised security measures, as we fight to rescue our broken towns.