In a bid to stop the spread of shacks and provide decent homes to residents of informal settlements, Mthatha yesterday unveiled a multimillion rand housing development.
More than 1300 houses will be built in a new settlement on 66 hectares of prime land close to the city.
The site is located next to Maydene Farm and will comprise RDP houses and, later, affordable houses.
Areas have also been allocated for the construction of schools, clinics, commercial and residential flats, which include two-storey buildings.
The building of the houses is set to kick off before the end of the month.
It is the first development of its kind in Mthatha, according to King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipal spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza.
It falls within government’s Breaking New Ground concepts which advocates sustainable human settlements that allow for a mixture of different income groups and types of houses.
“The municipality has put aside more than R203-million for the project,” he said.
The land for the project was previously occupied by hundreds of shacks and mud houses with few modern mortar and brick structures.
Residents who had occupied the land for more than a decade dubbed the settlement KwaRay or Masizithathele (which loosely translates to “Let’s take it without permission”).
But KSD was granted an order by the Mthatha High Court and later the Supreme Court of Appeals to demolish the structures earlier this year.
Residents of KwaRay, who were said to have occupied the land illegally, have, however, since lodged an appeal against their eviction in the Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, KSD mayor Nonkoliso Ngqongwa, speaking at the official handing over of the site to the contractor, Stedone Development, said beneficiaries of the new housing project were people who reside in shacks on the banks of Mthatha River near Norwood suburb, Scrap Yard informal settlement and Sharply informal settlement. She said the building would start before the end of the month with the houses to be completed by December next year.
“We hope they will be finished on time,” she said.
Bulk services have already been installed while a single “show house” is about to be finished.
It consists of two bedrooms, an insulated ceiling, shower and kitchen with a fitted sink, among other features.
Ngqongwa declined to have a picture of the house taken by the Dispatch during the handing over of the site arguing that it was not yet complete.
She also refused to comment on the appeal lodged by some of the evicted residents of KwaRay, saying that process was being handled by municipal lawyers.
However, several beneficiaries were visibly impressed after seeing the show house.
“It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to move into one of my own,” said 75-year-old Nonqandile Mkhetheni, who lives in a shack with her daughter-in-law and four grandchildren.
Phumza Nzuzo, 47, said she currently shared two tiny shacks with her husband, seven children and one grandchild.
She has been trying to get a proper house for her family since 1994 and has applied for one several times.
She said she couldn’t wait for the day she can move into her own house. On the other hand, 22-year-old Andile Mdoko said he was always worried when gale winds blew because he didn’t know how stable his shack was.
KSD project to replace shacks
More than 1300 houses will be built in a new settlement on 66 hectares of prime land close to the city.
The site is located next to Maydene Farm and will comprise RDP houses and, later, affordable houses.
Areas have also been allocated for the construction of schools, clinics, commercial and residential flats, which include two-storey buildings.
The building of the houses is set to kick off before the end of the month.
It is the first development of its kind in Mthatha, according to King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) municipal spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza.
It falls within government’s Breaking New Ground concepts which advocates sustainable human settlements that allow for a mixture of different income groups and types of houses.
“The municipality has put aside more than R203-million for the project,” he said.
The land for the project was previously occupied by hundreds of shacks and mud houses with few modern mortar and brick structures.
Residents who had occupied the land for more than a decade dubbed the settlement KwaRay or Masizithathele (which loosely translates to “Let’s take it without permission”).
But KSD was granted an order by the Mthatha High Court and later the Supreme Court of Appeals to demolish the structures earlier this year.
Residents of KwaRay, who were said to have occupied the land illegally, have, however, since lodged an appeal against their eviction in the Constitutional Court.
Meanwhile, KSD mayor Nonkoliso Ngqongwa, speaking at the official handing over of the site to the contractor, Stedone Development, said beneficiaries of the new housing project were people who reside in shacks on the banks of Mthatha River near Norwood suburb, Scrap Yard informal settlement and Sharply informal settlement. She said the building would start before the end of the month with the houses to be completed by December next year.
“We hope they will be finished on time,” she said.
Bulk services have already been installed while a single “show house” is about to be finished.
It consists of two bedrooms, an insulated ceiling, shower and kitchen with a fitted sink, among other features.
Ngqongwa declined to have a picture of the house taken by the Dispatch during the handing over of the site arguing that it was not yet complete.
She also refused to comment on the appeal lodged by some of the evicted residents of KwaRay, saying that process was being handled by municipal lawyers.
However, several beneficiaries were visibly impressed after seeing the show house.
“It’s beautiful and I can’t wait to move into one of my own,” said 75-year-old Nonqandile Mkhetheni, who lives in a shack with her daughter-in-law and four grandchildren.
Phumza Nzuzo, 47, said she currently shared two tiny shacks with her husband, seven children and one grandchild.
She has been trying to get a proper house for her family since 1994 and has applied for one several times.
She said she couldn’t wait for the day she can move into her own house. On the other hand, 22-year-old Andile Mdoko said he was always worried when gale winds blew because he didn’t know how stable his shack was.
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