New move on land use, settlements

MBDA roped in to assist with long-term projects, including social housing in Summerstrand

The Nelson Mandela Bay municipality has partnered with the Mandela Bay Development Agency (MBDA) to tackle key long-term human settlements projects, including the development of social housing in Summerstrand.

The MBDA will also assist the municipality with the design and implementation of a land use management system that could solve zoning woes for property owners in the metro.

This is despite the city spending about R80m on a land information system known as the Integrated Land Information System a few years ago.

The municipality was later embroiled in a battle with the service provider over who owns the intellectual property.

In June, MBDA chief executive Ashraf Adam drafted and approved a memorandum that listed the various projects that the metro and agency would be partnering on.

On Wednesday, Adam said the MBDA would conduct research on behalf of the city.

Human settlements executive director Nolwandle Gqiba said a process to see what could be salvaged from the Integrated Land Information System was under way.

“We are developing a land use management system. We have visited Cape Town to investigate what works. However it is a broad project.”

The MBDA is also tasked with securing specialist services for the land use management system at a cost of R2m.

In the confidential document seen by The Herald, Adam says the MBDA will also assist the human settlements department to investigate the ideal location for an international convention centre.

Other projects the MBDA will assist the city with include:

Quarterly engagements with property developers;

Dealing with problem buildings;

Affordable housing and mixed-use developments in the city centre;

The development of affordable housing in Motherwell NU32 and Helenvale as part of the safe space through urban upgrades programme;

The development of affordable housing on abandoned school sites in the northern areas, North End and Schauderville; and

Planning and construction of mixed land uses and mixed-income housing on property owned by the municipality in Summerstrand.

Adam declined to comment on the document on Wednesday.

However, he said the intention was not to turn the MBDA into a property developer but to find alternative ways to solve socioeconomic issues in some of the city’s poorest areas through human settlements.

“This is a work in progress, in the very early stages.

“We are still working these things through.

“The MBDA is going to do work for human settlements.

“We are still going to work out the modality and plan what needs to be done.

“This is not even in our fiveyear plan and it is still in the very early stages.”

In the document, Adam also wrote that the initiatives would not be undertaken at the same time.

“It is recognised that some can be incorporated into the existing work of the MBDA, and that the land use management system will be taken on as a special project for which funding has already been procured in the 2018/19 budget.”

The initiatives will be incorporated later in the MBDA’s five-year plan.