23 July 2004

By Lebofsa Masha

THOUSANDS of poor people in Mogale City will benefit from a multimillion-rand low-cost housing project that will put a roof over the heads of 6 000 families within a year.

The project, run by the Gauteng department of housing and overseen by the municipality, began in March and is expected to take a year to complete.

The first phase of the project - the building of 2 098 houses - will be over by the end of August. The bulk of the houses will be built by March next year.

Vusi Radebe, the director of housing in Mogale City, says the chosen areas include Sinqobile, Munsieville Ext 4, Rietvallei Ext 1, Rietvallei Proper and Kagiso Ext 12.

Sinqobile will be the recipient of 598 houses, 96 of which have already been completed. The Gauteng department of housing has already carried out an inspection of the units. Another 48 houses have been completed and are awaiting inspection.

In Sinqobile 261 houses are still under construction, 313 rafters have been inspected and approved by the department, and 473 rafter foundations have been completed.

Five hundred houses each will be built in Munsieville Ext 4 and Kagiso Ext 12.

So far 52 houses have already been completed in Munsieville; 320 are still under construction. The housing department has approved 371 rafters and 414 rafter foundations have been completed.

In Kagiso Ext 12 a show house has been erected and is ready for inspection by the Gauteng department of housing.

Rietvallei Ext 1 and Rietvallei Proper will each have 250 houses constructed.

"We have had some problems in the past, but fortunately we managed to overcome them and now we are on course. The first phase will be complete before August," Radebe says.

Two contractors, Mathe's Construction CC and Motheo Group (Pty) Ltd, will share the construction. The sites have already been handed over to the developers.

A steering committee and a liaison officer have been appointed in each ward where houses are being built - the aim being to involve the community.

Vivian Ngcefe, the community liaison officer for Rietvallei Proper, says people are already moving from their shacks to the stands allocated to them.

"Those who can afford to have already built their own houses," she says.

Alphonsina Matima, the liaison officer for Rietvallei Ext 1, says a similar process is under way there.

"The people of old Rietvallei are happy and satisfied with what the government is doing for them."

Creative solutions to housing crisis
PEACE MABE, the councillor heading the housing portfolio, said she was committed to housing everybody in the foreseeable future, despite the serious challenges faced in this regard.

6 000 houses to be built
More than 6 000 low-cost houses will be built in Mogale City this year, said Councillor Peace Mabe, who heads the housing portfolio.