Settlement gets upgrade
Community consultations for the upgrade of the Agste Laan informal settlement in Valhalla Park have been concluded and contractors have begun their site preparations, the City of Cape Town said yesterday.
“The R50.8-million upgrade to transform the lives of these residents will go a long way towards creating a sense of place in the community, with its formalised layout and community-friendly design,” Xanthea Limberg, mayoral committee member for informal settlements, water and waste services, and energy, said.
If construction was able to proceed as planned, the site should be completed by the end of next year. Constant co-operation from the beneficiaries would be of paramount importance, she said.
The formalised layout would allow the city to provide an enhanced level of basic services. Each of the 580 residential plots would have access to its own toilet and metered water and electricity connections. The redesign would also allow for the provision of public lighting. This could not be done previously due to the density of the structures.
As part of the upgrade, formal erven would be created, which could be transferred with title deeds to qualifying beneficiaries. The progressive realisation of tenure was one of the key thrusts of the city’s new organisational development and transformation plan. The enhanced service delivery plan was about finding ways of igniting hope by enabling opportunities and services in a more localised, area-based manner, Limberg said.
Those who did not qualify – for example those with other properties registered in their name, those who had previously been allocated a housing opportunity, and foreign nationals – would not get ownership, but would be issued with a certificate of tenure.
A series of meetings with the community was held to inform them of the design, as well as explain the process of upgrading, she said.
Residents also took the opportunity to highlight their preference for space to be set aside for places of worship and early childhood development centres and this was included in the project specifications. In addition to the design inputs, residents would be able to exercise their influence by choosing a street naming theme.
“Given the crippling land shortage in the city, these informal settlement upgrades will become more and more integral to ensuring that residents receive higher levels of service,” Limberg said.
“The density of informal settlements often jeopardises provision of basic and emergency services,” Siyabulela Mamkeli, mayoral committee member for the area, said. “In addition, designs such as this can also improve safety in the community. The creation of roads concentrates the movement of pedestrians and as such limits the opportunities for criminals to strike.”