R500m for Gauteng housing
Lazarus Mabasa
21 January 2005
The Gauteng provincial government has set aside over R500-million for the next financial year to upgrade and formalise informal settlements in the province.
Housing MEC Nomvula Mokonyane told the media in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, on Thursday that the authorities were concentrating on Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg as they were leading areas with many informal settlements.
People countrywide are flocking to the two mega-metros in search for jobs, resulting in the mushrooming of squatter camps.
The places to be concentrated on are Lawley, Wailersfarm where 3 200 houses will be built, including at Thulamtwana. At least 3 348 houses will also be built at Kliptown, in Soweto.
Thembhelihle residents will soon be relocated to Vlakfontein, where authorities will build 3 134 houses.
"Our approach is to make sure that there is housing security and comfort in areas that are hard hit by informal settlements", Mokonyane
said.
"We don't want to throw people out on the streets; we want to make sure that all people are secure, and our approach will be to implement the national housing plan."
The Gauteng government has already entered into service level agreements with the City of Johannesburg to work on developing and implementing informal settlements.
The provincial government has registered 70% of people living in informal settlements for proper houses with running water, electricity and sewage systems.
In his state of the nation address in 2004, President Thabo Mbeki committed his administration to converting all squatter camps into decent areas by 2014.
In the Western Cape, the provincial administration has announced plans to eradicate informal settlement along the busy N2 in Cape Town.
Source: BuaNews
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