This morning Mayor Patricia De Lille undertook a progress inspection of the City’s Hostel Transformation Project in Langa. She visited the site of a new development: the City’s Hostel Transformation Project in Langa. Once completed, it will see the construction of approximately 1 320 units over the next five years at an expected cost of R510 million. The first of these apartments is expected to be complete and ready to be handed over to beneficiaries in the first half of 2015. To date, the City has spent approximately R45 million of the R170 million set aside for the first phase of 463 units. Construction of 463 rental apartments in Langa began as part of the first phase of the project and will be built over the next two years on the Old Depot Site in Langa. The start of the project in Langa is a significant milestone in our efforts to ultimately eradicate the hostels inherited from the apartheid housing policies. This project reaffirms the City’s commitment to redress, as we are intent on tackling the legacy of apartheid and creating conditions for all residents to live in dignified conditions. The old hostels are a grim reminder of the migrant labour system that was designed to deliberately deny citizenship to black people in the big cities. These new homes, which are two-bedroom apartments with toilets, showers and solar-heated water systems, wash-lines and space for children to play safely in the grounds, will allow people who have been living in the apartheid-style hostels for as long as 40 years to finally have a dignified home. Throughout this process of transformation, community engagement became an integral part of this development to a point where an inclusive Project Steering Committee was formed in August 2013, prior to the commencement of construction work. This project will be able to accommodate all qualifying residents in various hostels such as the New Flats area, Special Quarters, and temporary relocation areas (TRAs) which resulted from displacements in the past hostel projects, as well as some people from the broader Langa area who are on the housing database, provided that the allocation process proceeds according to the plan. The Mayor is pleased with the progress made so far in Langa and she trusts that the community will continue to work with the City to ensure that we can complete this project and provide hundreds of people with decent housing. The City’s overall Hostel Transformation Programme will extend to a number of areas over the next few years and ultimately consists of an estimated 12 000 units that will be upgraded or built in Langa, Gugulethu and Nyanga.
Posted on: Wed, 22 Oct 2014 10:37:31 +0000
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