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THURSDAY 19 December 2013 | 0021 910 6500 | Fax: 021 910 6501/06 | Email: post@peoplespost.co.za | Website: www.peoplespost.co.za | Mobisite: ppost.mobi
MANENBERG: CONSTRUCTION TO KICK OFF IN FEBRUARY
A place to call home TARRENLEE HABELGAARN @LeeLaVidaLoca
The living conditions of 573 families will change for the better once they receive new homes as part of a Manenberg housing project. Civil services for the project commenced in September, but construction is scheduled to start in February 2015. The project will provide employment for almost 200 local labourers, who will be employed through the Extended Public Works Programme. The homes will be built on four plots in Manenberg. Two of the erven are located on the corner of Downs and Vygiekraal roads and the corner of Downs Road and Usk Street. The third erf is surrounded by an existing residential development and is bordered by Irvine and Humber streets. The last erf is on the southern edge of Manenberg and is bordered by Landsdowne, Vygiekraal, Zwartskop and Wasbash roads. Beneficiaries will all be Manenberg residents on the housing waiting list. According to the City of Cape Town’s policy, beneficiaries are selected according to a mixture of applicants on council’s database within the areas surrounding the project and those longest on the database from outside the area. This allows for people from the development area to be accommodated to a greater extent than those from outside, to minimise conflict. A balance of beneficiaries from backyards and informal settlements is also selected. Ward councillor Junade Hoosain says it is exciting to watch the project develop. “This initiative will boost the morale of the community and provide so many families with a safe place to call home,” he says. “Some of these people have been on the waiting list for decades and it is nice to finally give them the opportunity to become homeowners.”
Mayoral Committee member for Human Settlements Tandeka Gqada says the total construction value of the project is R36m. “A civil engineering contractor commenced with the installation of civil services in September and will be completed next year. It is estimated that the construction of the houses will commence in early 2015,” she says. Manenberg resident Elizabeth Jantjies currently sleeps on a bed in her sister’s living room and has been on the housing waiting list for 17 years. Not wanting to live in an overcrowded house, she says she would be overjoyed to be selected for a house. “Every time I hear of a new housing project in the area I get excited. I try not to because of all the council’s empty promises,” she says. “For years they have been promising us houses yet nothing comes of it. I have learned not to get my hopes up. If it happens, it happens.” Everyone on the waiting list is deserving of a house, Jantjies says, but wonders how long she will still have to live in her current conditions. “We all deserve to have a safe place to call home, but I know of people who have been on the list for a shorter period than me and have been given homes already. How long must I still wait?” she asks. Anthony Davids says a new house and safe environment will be a blessing to his family. “It is not nice having to move from place to place, renting from other people. I would like to give my family stability and not worry about when the next move will be,” he says. “Being chosen for this housing project will be a new start for us and give us something to call our own.” Davids says it’s the little things that count. “We don’t need a mansion – we just want somewhere safe to live. Being able to let my children decorate their rooms the way they want and knowing we won’ t have to worry about moving will be special,” he says. Gqada says the beneficiary list will be finalised in the first half of next year.
PARTY IN THE PARK: Penlyn Estate siblings Lyndon and Camryn Kay are making the most of their holiday with many trips to the park. Already feeling the festive cheer, they were spotted having a ball at the public open space in Belthorn Estate. PHOTO: TARRENLEE HABELGAARN
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