Cape Town refurbishes thousands of community flats
24 March 2015
The refurbishment of about 7 000 community residential units owned by the Cape
Town was on verge of being completed, the city said on the eve of Human Rights
Day.
It said the massive programme had been symbolic of the administration's efforts to
bring about redress by investing in the maintenance of infrastructure in previously
under-invested areas and improving the lives of our more vulnerable residents.
Cape Town was proud to have reached this milestone, especially as an ode to
Human Rights Day on 21 March.
Its investment in the upgrade of its rental stock, housing some of its most
vulnerable residents, had also led to the creation of more than 14 900 job
opportunities thus far, while approximately R1.25-billion had been spent on this
project since it was launched in 2008.
Approximately 93% of the units identified for upgrade have been completed.
"This project is intricately linked to improving
service delivery to our more
vulnerable residents," said the mayoral committee member for human settlements,
Benedicta van Minnen. "When service delivery is improved, living conditions are
improved. Ensuring dignity is a core value enshrined within our Constitution, and
even though this was a difficult process, the city of Cape Town is committed to
delivering to all.
"This achievement is our tangible tribute to Human Rights Day and we will continue
to do everything in our power to protect this right."
Most of Cape Town's rental blocks of flats are more than 30 years old, and the city
says quality is a priority when it comes to the rental unit upgrades. Each rental unit
has to pass several stringent quality checks before various levels of contractual
completion are certified. Even after the families take occupation, the community
liaison officer visits each home to list any complaints residents may have.
Work has been completed in Scottsville,
Scottsdene, Uitsig, Woodlands, Connaught,
Kewtown and The Range. Refurbishment is still under way in Manenberg, Hanover
Park, Heideveld and Ottery.
"We urge communities to continue to work with us so that we can complete the
remainder of the units. We remain concerned about the level of gang violence in
certain areas which is jeopardising the safety of our residents and our efforts to
increase service delivery," said Van Minnen.
"We are proud of our progress, especially considering that there have been 85
incidents of violence on our sites since 2013, which have affected our progress. We
are, however, doing everything in our power to address these issues. The South
African Police Service and the city's metro police and law enforcement department
are assisting so that the human settlements directorate can complete these vital
upgrades. Private security firms have also been deployed to the troublesome sites.
"Furthermore, the Mayoral Urban
Regeneration Programme's efforts to enhance
safety through gang interventions in the most volatile areas have been stepped up,"
she added.
In 2014, the refurbishment project was named the South African Housing
Foundation's Community Development Project of the Year.
"Where units have been completed and tenants have moved in, the tenants are
receiving training on general home maintenance and the importance of paying their
rent as the rental income is used by the city to conduct general maintenance on its
rental stock.
"Creating the culture of payment is therefore very important and it is vital that a
sense of shared responsibility exists," Van Minnen added.
Source: City of
Cape Town
Community residential housing in Kewtown, Cape Town. (Image: City of Cape Town)
