Gauteng Provincial Government And ABSA Launch An Ambitious Housing Project

Sunday 22 July 2007

Efforts to reduce the housing backlog in Gauteng are to be taken a notch higher with the launch of an ambitious housing project. Following the successful implementation of Cosmo City and Olivenhoutbosch Mixed Development Housing Projects, government and the private sector are once again demonstrating their commitment to speed up housing delivery.

Through Mixed-Housing Development programme government is steadily transforming the spatial designs of settlements by doing away with apartheid spatial designs which created arid reserves for one group and plush suburbia for the other.

So far under this programme the Gauteng Provincial Government has identified flagship projects for each region in Gauteng where there is ongoing work which is at different phases and stages of construction. Through these projects government will be able to realize its objective of creating jobs as well as de-racializing human settlements and create those that will accommodate all and sundry irrespective of ones background, financial status or social standing.

Today we are witnessing another great initiative of public/private partnership between the Gauteng Department of Housing, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and ABSA bank who have teamed up to develop Chief Albert Luthuli Park Ext 6, a mixed income housing development in Modderfontein, Ekurhuleni.

The 1.8 billion rand mixed income housing development is in line with the government’s Breaking New Ground policy aimed at providing quality and affordable homes within a mixed income environment.

The initiative provides a mix of tenure and income groups as well as commercial and social amenities. Its objective is to create integrated communities and do away with the old apartheid system of spatial developments where people where segregated according to colour and wealth.

The proposed Chief Albert Luthuli Park project will cater for communities of the following informal settlements, Gabon, Emandleni, Chris Hani, Home Seekers as well as applicants on the waiting and beneficiaries of affordable bonded housing with the Ekurhuleni area.

Gauteng MEC for Housing Ms Nomvula Mokonyane has described the Chief Albert Luthuli as another milestone in government’s efforts to accelerate housing delivery in the province.

“While we are aware that this is not a solution to all the housing problems we are facing, this project will surely go a long way to ensure that we realize our objective of making housing accessible to all our people,” said Mokonyane.

The MEC also hailed the role of the business sector in helping government in providing houses to millions of desperate home seeking South Africans. “ We have always maintained that the task of providing shelter to our people is one that government cannot do alone, hence we urge other businesses to take a leaf from ABSA”, added Mokonyane.

Ekurhuleni Executive Mayor Duma Nkosi added that this project is unique in that it provides a sustainable mix of housing products to a spectrum of income levels in society, which satisfies different needs, different affordabilities and yet create a homogeneous balanced community.

“This project represents a national, provincial and local government
and private sector partnership to implement an integrated mixed income and use sustainable human settlements, whilst promoting, reinforcing and honouring the heritage and legacy of an outstanding African World Statesman” said Nkosi.

The Chief Albert Luthuli project will yield approximately 7 600 units in Extension 6 comprising of 3 600 subsidised units, 500 rental units and 3 850 bond houses of which 1 780 will be for the affordable market. Extensions 2, 3, 4 and 5 will consist of an additional 1 800 subsidised units.

The area will also boast social amenities such as three schools, a crèche, a church, a fire station, a police station, two public parks and urban agriculture, industrial and commercial developments for employment creation.

“This is another important and critical milestone in the delivery of mixed tenure housing by the private sector and again exemplifie3s the capability of public private partnerships,” said Sipho Mashinini, Managing Director of Absa Devco – the project managers of the development.

As the project implementation agent, Absa will be the primary financier of Extension 6 and will, where necessary, provide bridging finance for the other components of the development.

Another partner SABC’s radio station Metro Fm who celebrate 21 years this year, are elated to part of this ground breaking initiative. SABC Group Executive for Public Commercial Services, Pearl Luthuli, said as part of the public broadcaster’s vision for total citizen empowerment, they are proud to be associated with a project that honours a struggle hero of Chief Luthuli’s stature.

“We salute the Gauteng department of Housing for their efforts in restoring the dignity of our people through such initiatives.

Her colleague Matona Ntshona, Metro Fm station manager, said as part of the SABC’s Green Revolution campaign, they will plant trees which will have a lasting contribution towards the greening of the Chief Albert Luthuli Park Extension 6.

This is a demonstration of government and private sector working together to realize the principles of government policy to provide housing at large scale and promoting integration at all levels. It has been very clear to us in government that the challenges that we encounter can only be tackled if and only if we join forces together with business and other organs of our society.

As we demonstrate progress made in this groundbreaking initiative we should not forget that our struggle to house millions of our people should be intensified. Construction of the project will commence end of August 2007.