July 27, 2007
By Lucky Sindane
SEVERAL hostels are expected to be upgraded and reconstructed over the next few years, after business plans were completed by the City of Johannesburg and the Gauteng provincial government.
Eight hostels in Soweto alone require upgrading. These are Dube, Jabulani, Mzimhlope, Difateng , Mapetla, Dobsonville, Meadowlands and Nancefield. Three others are either already being reconstructed or work is soon to begin on improvements. These are Diepkloof, Alexandra and City Deep. The hostels were recently hit by violent demonstrations.
The reconstruction project has been undertaken in line with the national government's aim to do away with single-sex dormitory units and promote integrated community development. Providing essential services and social amenities like schools, clinics and sports fields are part of the project.
This means that hostels will be integrated with the surrounding communities.
Women's hostels at Orlando
(Photo: Enoch Lehung, City of Johannesburg)
In the current financial year, running from June 2007 to June 2008, the City has prioritised four hostels for major upgrades - Dube, Orlando West women's hostel, Meadowlands and Diepkloof, where work began in the last financial year. The first phase is due to be completed within six weeks.
On Wednesday, 25 July, City officials inspected some of those that have been identified for improvements and upgrading. Explaining the purpose of the tour, the City's spokesperson, Nthatisi Modingoane, said: "There has been an outcry about poor service delivery in some of the hostels. During protests in the past weeks, a memorandum was forwarded and we are busy addressing issues raised by its authors.
"We are here to interact with the project co-ordinators and assess the situation, as well as the challenges facing us."
Dube hostel
The site visits started at Dube hostel in Soweto, where a few single-sex blocks were upgraded in 2004. They were found to have deteriorated markedly; toilets and washing basins were broken and parts were stripped.
Some walls were crumbling and plasterwork was falling off; windows were broken and electricity disconnected. Toilet facilities were few - in one case eight blocks shared four toilets, all in a bad condition. There was a lot of litter and illegal dumping spots, with an absence of proper dustbins.
Residents recently took to the streets to protest against poor service delivery, and during the visit, Isaac Ndaba, a 40-year-old resident, described living in the hostel as a nightmare. "Other hostels are developed but ours in not. There is no electricity, windows are broken and [there is] no water," he said.
Mzwandile Ngxingweni, the manager of Dube hostel, said: "People live in bad conditions. Some of the hostels are upgraded, but there is not much difference with those which have been upgraded." The suggestion was that they were not well-looked after by some of the occupants.
Modingoane said that the City's housing department would accelerate repairs and maintenance programmes at all the hostels. "Here in Dube structures are collapsing and there's a need to start here, but there are other issues as well. We look at the hostels collectively."
The City aims to appoint consultants to begin the preliminary work, which includes zoning, township proclamation and feasibility studies. "We have to go through proper formal and transparent processes before starting with developments."
The next site inspection of the tour was Orlando West women's hostel, which is in a better state. It is clean and it is not overcrowded, but there is no electricity in some of the units and there are no geysers. Residents also complained about crime outside the hostel, saying they got waylaid when they returned from work.
Diepkloof hostel
Diepkloof hostel introduced a fresh and promising scene that augurs well for the future of hostels. It has a more up-market look and feel, with 84 double-storey family units almost completed. This hostel is one of Executive Mayor Amos Masondo's 2010 legacy projects.
The R10-million project, which site managers said used at least 85 percent local labour, has been built for mixed use. It consists of two-bedroom, free-standing units for both rental and allocation.
"The concept is the same as that of Cosmo City," Modingoane said. "The first phase of the project will be completed by the end of August and people who qualify will get the units. An audit has been done and we already know who qualifies as well as those who do not qualify. The latter group will exercise the option of renting."
People from the old Diepkloof hostel would get first preference. "We want to accommodate as many people as possible. The City is working on integrating hostels into townships and people who live here [will] get title deeds."
This particular hostel was not affected during the recent protests.
City Deep hostel
At the last stop, City Deep hostel, a lot of work had already being undertaken in converting the single-sex units into family units. In phase one of the upgrading, 123 housing units had been completed, some of which were already occupied by council staff.
James Maluleke, from the Johannesburg Social Housing Company, said that the complex had a house committee that administered the area together with City officials. They planned and managed challenges as a team. As a result of this, there was a 100 percent rental payment level.
He said phase two of the renovation would consist of 92 units.
"A total of 654 units will be built by the end of the project and the estimated cost, including the building of roads and pedestrian walkways, will be R108-million. Council staff will be given first preference and the public will be considered later in the allocation of houses," he said.
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