Johannesburg - Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said on Monday that her department would spend close to R1bn to deal with the backlog of housing for about 6 000 military veterans, her department said.
"Today we launch our dedicated programme that we announced in the budget speech to provide military veterans with decent accommodation," Sisulu said in a statement.
The department wanted each veteran to have a house in the next three years. The eldest members would be first on the list.
The defence and military veterans ministry would assist the veterans with regard to their medical needs and re-integrating them into the economy through skills training.
The human settlements department was currently building three houses for Gauteng's eldest veterans, one of whom was 87.