March 27, 2006
By Tammy O'Reilly
WITH the help of City officials and housing department staff, the Letsema Housing Project has moved a few steps closer to reaching its target of building 1 000 houses for those on the housing waiting list.
On Friday, 24 March volunteers rolled up their sleeves and built houses for five families in the Doornkop area. The project is part of the government's People Housing Process, set up to accelerate the delivery of housing by encouraging people to build their own homes with the financial assistance they receive from the state.
Among the volunteers were Johannesburg's mayoral committee member for housing, Strike Ralegoma, and city manager, Pascal Moloi.
"We have been here since 7 o'clock doing all sorts of things that people do to build houses. Unfortunately I'm not very qualified in building so they have asked me to be the dagha boy for today," Moloi joked.
The houses' foundations were prepared two weeks earlier and last week volunteers laid the bricks and put in doorframes and windows. The structures will be left to cure for a few days, and thereafter the roofs and interior fittings, like baths and basins, will be installed.
"One house like this costs about R18 000 to build," said the project manager in the City's housing department, Busi Molefe. "The government provides the essentials and we even go the extra mile of helping those who are on the waiting list to build their homes. And all the new owner has to do is plaster the house if they wish."
The families the Letsema projects builds houses for have been on the housing waiting list for a long time, but the focus at present is on building houses for those who are unable to do so themselves.
"This time around we are helping a blind couple, a very sick woman who has small children to look after and an 86-year-old lady as well. We try to help everyone but some people need our help more than others, like orphans, single-parent households and people living with HIV/Aids," Molefe explained.
The Letsema Housing Project has the task of helping to build 1 000 houses in Doornkop, Orange Farm, Ivory Park and Diepsloot; so far 660 houses have been built through the campaign.
People register with the Letsema Housing Project and are trained in the basics of mixing cement, brick-laying, levelling and digging trenches. Anyone wanting to assist with the project can call the City of Johannesburg's housing department on 011 407 7001.
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