​Nthele Motsepe
Hooray! 
This must be a collective refrain of beneficiaries of Gauteng government's rapid land release programme.
In what has no doubt be hailed as a fresh approach toward resolving the housing backlog, the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements is releasing serviced stands (pockets of land) to residents.
The Ikageleng Land Release Programme has already seen scores of first-time homeowners receiving serviced stands and title deeds which provide them security of tenure. 
Aptly named Ikageleng - which means build for yourselves - the programme tackles the housing backlog by gifting home-seekers serviced stands to build houses for themselves.
Beneficiaries are also given an opportunity to choose plans that range from 35m2 to 87m2.
The qualifying beneficiaries are carefully selected from the Housing Needs Register and must be first time homeowners with valid South African identity documents.  
The initial phase focuses primarily on individuals who earn between R3501 and R7000 per month. This is to ease the burden on struggling households.
Participants must be prepared to start building within eighteen months and are expected to have put up a formal structure within five years of receiving the land.
Failure to begin constructions within these stipulated periods will result in the properties being forfeited back to the department for reallocation.
Potential beneficiaries on the waiting list who meet the criteria will receive an SMS from the department with further information.
More details on the second and the third phases of the programme will be made available in due course.
Members of the public can visit their nearest customer support centres to register or check their statuses.