Call for affordable, inclusive housing

HOUSING activist organisation Ndifuna Ukwazi has urged the province to ensure its draft inclusionary housing policy framework to create affordable homes in line with people’s actual incomes, appreciating the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Inclusionary housing is a planning and land-use tool that municipalities can use to oblige private developers to provide affordable housing at below market rates in new residential or mixed-use developments. The deadline for public comments on the province’s draft policy framework, which was launched on May 14, is July 13.

Ndifuna Ukwazi researcher Robyn Park-Ross said although the organisation welcomed the move to address the spatial legacy of apartheid, it would be raising questions as to who would actually benefit from the policy.

“We call on the public to make use of this important opportunity to raise their voices and send a clear message that the state should prioritise truly affordable housing. Twenty-seven years after the dawn of democracy in South Africa, the development of housing in the Western Cape continues to develop along apartheid lines. Segregation and exclusion are still the most persistent barriers to equality and justice in Cape Town,” said Park-Ross.

Development Action Group spokesperson Willard Matiashe said the idea of inclusionary housing was not new. “Even in Cape Town we have seen examples of inclusionary housing, such as the R3 billion Conradie project which is a mixed-income, mixed-use housing development planned on the old Conradie Hospital site,” he said.

Local Government and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell said the policy framework would help municipalities facilitate the inclusion of more affordable housing units in developments in their municipal areas.

“Inclusionary housing requires new private developments looking for further residential or mixed-use development rights to include housing units that are affordable for lowerincome members of the public, or to contribute towards affordable housing in well-located areas in other ways.

“The aim is to work with the private sector to create more affordable housing opportunities in the parts of our cities and towns located close to jobs, schools, health facilities and good-quality public spaces.”