City to ask government to dig deep for settlements upgrade
THE UPGRADE of 27 informal settlements near the N2 Gateway is one of four “mega or catalytic” projects identified by the City of Cape Town for national government funding.
More than 26 600 potential properties form part of the planned upgrades and new developments.
But the work is dependent on national funding – R940 million from the urban settlement grant and R 1 791m from the human settlements development grant – over the next five financial years.
According to a report considered at yesterday’s human settlements portfolio committee, the city is also looking at a District Six land reform project, social housing for Voortrekker Road and a North-Eastern corridor public/private partnership.
However, only the details of the N2 Gateway upgrade, known as the Southern Corridor Sustainable Neighbourhoods project, have been released at this stage.
This project focuses on the upgrade of 27 informal settlements near to the N2, and includes the first two phases of the N2 Gateway project that was started in 2005 as a pilot, intergovernmental housing development.
If approved, and national funding is secured, the city will upgrade several informal settlements and provide for various housing opportunities.
But the report noted that the city’s allocation of national grant funding over the next five years was not known, and that any changes to the budget over this period would affect the project’s delivery targets.
According to the report submitted by Trevor Mitchell, of the city’s human settlements directorate, the upgrades would create inclusive neighbourhoods where households would have access to economic opportunities.
The national department of human settlements announced last July that it would implement 50 such “mega” projects throughout the country, in partnership with the private sector, to “deliberately restructure settlement patterns” and their impact on the environment. The projects would also allow for a public/private sector collaboration to create job opportunities for the youth in affected communities.
Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu said then: “We need to move from small projects of 200 houses to mega projects of integrated housing mix to cater for different incomes and needs. These will include houses for the indigent, gap housing, rental units, social housing and serviced stands. This will ensure integration of different income groups, different races and lead to the building of a South Africa that truly belongs to all.”
Mitchell said the metro’s housing projects that have been submitted to national government for consideration had to support the spatial development framework and respond to the inequalities of the past.