July 11, 2006
By Ndaba Dlamini
A GROUP of women sit chatting near the entrance to the M2 Men's Hostel in Alexandra. Some are doing beadwork while others sit idly, seemingly oblivious to the renovation activities going on around them.
To the left of the entrance, music blares from a row of spaza shops, competing with the sound of drills and shouts of workmen working on the once all-male hostel, one of three hostels in Alexandra township.
Though it looks shabby now, within a year it should have a brand new face, thanks to the Alexandra Renewal Project, the City of Johannesburg and the provincial government's efforts to revamp the township's derelict housing infrastructure.
Now in the second phase of conversion, construction of a theatre within the hostel complex is at an advanced stage, and will take 20 months to complete, says Steward Horne from Mkwanazi Construction, contracted by the Alexandra Renewal Project to refurbish the hostel.
The renewal project is a presidential development initiative, one of the aims of which is to improve conditions in all hostels in Alex, to create "a habitable and pleasant living environment for the occupants".
The new transitional homes for M2 Hostel residents
"We are refurbishing the hostel and converting it into 286 proper bachelor units with ablution facilities. The original units had no such facilities and residents used a communal bathing and toilet spot," says Horne.
To offer residents more privacy, a staircase is planned to link into the new ablution facilities, offering privacy to residents. In addition, a kitchenette for each unit will be incorporated into the extensions. The second phase will cost R23-million, says Horne.
Phase One of the project, which involved construction of five new one-storey flats to be used as a transitional home for displaced M2 Hostel residents while their homes are renovated, was completed a few months back.
Local sub-contractors
The theatre, which is "halfway complete", will serve the hostel residents as well as the community of Alexandra at large, says George Botha of Xaba Civics, the company undertaking the refurbishments to the once dilapidated community hall.
"We are adding ablution facilities, a dance and choir room to the existing structure. The theatre will cost R4,2-million to complete."
Job opportunities have also opened up, according to Horne.
"The conditions of all the contracts entered into with the Alexandra Renewal Project stipulate that 40 percent of any work in Alexandra has to be done by local sub-contractors. We have hired mostly skilled locals and offered training in construction work to those with no skills at all.
"The Alexandra Renewal Project and all consultants doing work in Alex want to make sure that Alex residents benefit in some way, be it in acquiring professional skills or in capacity building."
Bheki Zulu, a member of the residents' committee living with his family in the M2 Hostel, says he welcomes the ongoing developments.
"Residents are happy that something is being done to better their living conditions. We have been living in inhumane conditions where overcrowding was rife for the past years. We hope the new family units will provide privacy and a place we can call home."
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