HOUSING PROJECT KICKS OFF
UMngeni Municipality Mayor Sizwe Sokhela last Thursday officiated at a sod-turning for a project worth R106 million that will see more than 700 RDP houses being rectified in Ebumnandini in Mpophomeni.
The Department of Housing’s Rectification of Houses project will transform a number of 20m sq RDP houses into 40m sq homes. Currently the houses comprise just two rooms and the upgrades will see a two-bedroom open plan house with a lounge and kitchen as well as a bathroom.
All of the existing houses will be demolished and occupants moved to temporary structures. “We will be moving 30 families at a time to the temporary structures while we rebuild their homes,” said Stedone Developments project manager Siyabonga Khambule. He added that there are also 91 vacant sites identified for the building of houses.
At the sod-turning, Stedone Developments promised to speed up the process so that people would be able to move into their new homes as soon as possible. “We want to start work soon on the site establishment and get going erecting the temporary structures. We are hoping to finish these temporary homes and have some families moved by December,” he said.
Ward 8 Councillor Slungile Buthelezi said they were thrilled to see this project happening after a 10-year wait. One of the beneficiaries thanked the officials for the project.
“We are grateful for these houses as they have provided a shelter for us over the years but they are small and we are thrilled that they’ll now be made bigger as our families are also growing,” said Ncamisile Skhakhane. She added that their roof blew off once and they almost got hurt.
uMngeni Mayor Sizwe Sokhela applauded the ward councillor and his ward committee on their handling of this project. He said the project belonged to the community and he hoped people would look after it. “We don’t want complaints from the community. I hope there will be transparency and that if there are issues, they’ll be resolved without stopping the project,” he added.
Stedone Developments showed its care for the community of Ebumnandini by donating food parcels to needy families. Another five families benefited with donations from uMngeni Municipality Disaster Management in partnership with Red Cross.