22 August 2007

By Clifford Mogotsi and Sipho None

MORE than 3 000 houses will be built in Munsieville under the 20 Prioritised Townships Project (PTP). This is according to the Gauteng MEC for housing, Nomvula Mokonyane, who visited the area to assess the project's progress.

The R3-billion 20 PTP project, launched in 2006 by Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa, is aimed at rehabilitating existing social and economic infrastructure in several previously marginalised townships.

Munsieville is one of the oldest townships on the West Rand and boasts a rich and vibrant history. However, it is characterised by poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment. The facelift of the ou kasi includes the rehabilitation of the Horseshoe area, a place clogged with dilapidated semi-detached houses.

Executive Mayor Koketso Calvin Seerane lead the delegation to Munsieville, accompanied by officials from the housing department. He said that providing housing for the poor was an ambition of his and of the department.

"We feel vindicated that the decision we took as Mogale City that housing should be a number one priority … is gaining momentum."

Addressing Mokonyane, he said: "We believe in co-operative governance and we took that decision knowing that you have a passion for housing delivery."

Seerane said he met Mokonyane when he took office to discuss housing issues. "And we want to salute the residents of Mogale City for being patient and for giving us a chance to address housing delivery."

According to a report issued by the MEC's office, the area comprises of about 75 ervens that are to be upgraded and renewed. The stands will be evaluated, taking into account the condition and number of structures on each stand.

Speaking in Munsieville, Mokonyane said 3 105 housing units would be built. However, the number of targeted beneficiaries in the provincial and municipal system had ballooned to 3 165, "leaving 60 beneficiaries on the top of the fence".

About 1 300 families from the Rooimespel area would be the first to benefit. "We have decided that we are going to relocate families, not individuals. We will also provide rental stock for those who are not permanent residents in the province."

Mokonyane agreed that the houses to be built should satisfy everyone. "In order to have a co-ordinated, integrated development, we have developed a master plan to guide the various development initiatives in the area."

In that master plan, informal settlements in Pongoville and backyard shacks in Munsieville have been identified; it also makes provision for the demolition of semi-detached units in the Horseshoe area.

"In the Horseshoe area, the dilapidated buildings will be demolished and a new layout design will be done for the area and stands made available," Mokonyane said. "It is estimated that [about] 94 new stands with semi-detached housing could be established on the site out of the existing 75 stands, which will lead to new housing units which will allow for land tenure from leasehold to freehold."

The hostel, which has about 330 male inhabitants, would be converted into family units and/or rental units. Structural analysis of the building has indicated that it can be rehabilitated.

Mokonyane, who is the political champion of the PTP, said that construction companies owned by women would comprise at least 40 percent of the project, while youth and people with disabilities would be allocated 30 percent and 5 percent respectively.

Opening the floor to questions, residents were most concerned with the housing waiting list and corrupt officials. After listening to residents' complains about irregularities in the allocation of houses at Phatsima, Mokonyane said that her department had handed over an audit report to the Scorpions to investigate irregularities.

Work is also under way at the Munsieville Buffer, the strip of land separating Munsieville proper from Van Riebeeck Street (K17); and at sites three and four in Munsieville proper (along Mokgatle Street). The department also has greenfield developments at Munsieville Extension 6; Pongoville informal settlement (phase two of Extension 4); and Munsieville Extension 5.

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