Niall Mellon Trust to build 3,500 homes this year

THE Niall Mellon Township Trust (NMTT) is on course to meet its target of housing 100,000 people in South Africa in the next number of months and will complete 3,500 homes this year.

The charity — established by developer and entrepreneur, Niall Mellon — confirmed the targets yesterday as figures just filed to the Companies Office for the Irish arm of the charity, reported its income last year dropped by 46% from €7.89 million to €4.23m.

However, a spokeswoman for the NMTT said yesterday “as Niall Mellon effectively donated €1.9m himself in 2009…the real reduction in donations received in Ireland last year was about 25%”.

The main portion of the charity’s funds is generated by its South African-based company where revenues last year dropped by 12% to €21.5m from €24.5m in 2009.

Mr Mellon’s development companies’ loans have been transferred to NAMA and he and his wife’s Cedarmount home in Mount Anville, Dublin has been surrendered to the agency.

However, commenting on the fortunes of the Trust yesterday, Mr Mellon said: “Our charity is in good shape financially as a result of quick strategic decisions we made after the banks collapsed in 2008. We cut our costs quickly and that eased pressure off us.”

He said: “The bulk of our money now comes from the South African government who have been great to work with over the past 10 years and who have considerably increased the money available to build decent homes.

“They have inspired us to do more and last year the charity built almost 3,000 homes and this year we expect to complete 3,500.”

Mr Mellon confirmed that over 600 Irish people have signed up for the annual one-week building blitz in South Africa this coming November.

The charity expects to hit the 100,000 figure in the first half of 2012 and Mr Mellon said: “The achievement of housing 100,000 people will be a special moment for everyone in Ireland and South Africa.”

To date, the charity – which is the largest charity provider of social homes in South Africa — has constructed 17,500 homes in 20 townships in the Western Cape and 12 in Gauteng in South Africa.

The charity was established in 2002.