June 21, 2002
By Thomas Thale
BY the year 2004, the City of Johannesburg plans to be rid of informal settlements, and intends for land invasions to have ceased. Existing shack settlements should have made way for serviced stands owned by people who have title deeds to their properties.
This is in terms of the city's plan to speed up the provision of housing to the homeless and to root out land invasions. Shimi Maimela, the city's Director of Housing, this week announced an ambitious city plan to contain and manage the mushrooming of illegal shack settlements, relocate people who have moved into undesignated land and upgrade informal settlements that are located on land suitable for housing development.
Councillor Sizakele Nkosi, who is responsible for housing in the city, said that the new by-laws, to be adopted next month, will prescribe harsh penalties for land invaders. "We have established a rapid response unit led by the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD). This unit will crack down on land invaders without any hesitation," Nkosi warned.
In terms of the city's plan, all settlements should have proper infrastructure and be formalised by 2007. The city has, at present, a backlog of 217 000 housing units. Projects which are currently underway will reduce the backlog to 50 000 by 2004. "We still have to secure funding for the construction of an extra 50 000 units," Maimela explained. "We need about R300-million to complete these projects. We have started discussions with the World Bank and with the provincial government in an effort to raise the money."
There are currently 89 informal settlements, providing shelter to an estimated 170 000 families across the city. Twenty-six of these settlements, comprising an estimated 36 000 stands, will be relocated, 54 consisting of about 111 000 stands, will be upgraded and nine will benefit from the Alexandra Renewal Project.
"Through the City of Johannesburg's Housing Department, eight projects aimed at addressing the housing backlog have begun in earnest. The projects are in the following areas: Diepsloot, Zandspruit, Golden Triangle, Baralink, Thulamtwana, Weiler's Farm, Vlakfontein Ext and Vlakfontein West," Amos Masondo, the Executive Mayor of the city said. By 2007, the housing backlog should be eradicated.
Nkosi confirmed that the city is winding up the provision of Reconstruction and Development Project (RDP)-type houses. The 55 000 houses being built in Bram Fischer, near Dobsonville and 1 136 structures under construction in Diepsloot will be the last RDP units to be built. The Gauteng Provincial Government announced a shift to the People's Housing Process in September last year. In terms of the new housing programme, beneficiaries earning less than R1 500 per month will be given an initial subsidy of R1 800 to develop their sites, an extra R4 800 for essential services and R13 700 to build their own houses. "PHP makes use of local labour, provides for larger stands and people are free to experiment with their own plans," Nkosi explained.
PHP was adopted by the national Housing Department in 1998, with the intention of galvanising the poor to take an active part in building their own houses.
Read more
"The needs of our people are vast and yet the resources are limited. We will continue to fast track the housing backlog. We remain optimistic that our goal of creating a better life for all will be achieved," the Mayor concluded.
Permission to use web site material
Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as:
- Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website
(www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency
(www.joburg.org.za)";
- If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original
article on this website;
- The name of the article's author is acknowledged;
-
The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill
in this brief online form).
Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 |
