A housing company that left Masiphumelele residents with only toilets and showers after claiming R10-million of a project’s R13,7m budget some years ago, has been appointed to help the city meet its backlog of 400,000 houses.
The Communicare housing company was appointed by a full sitting of the council despite concerns raised by the ANC and the ID.
Mayoral committee member for housing Dan Plato said he was confident Communicare would do a good job as the company was using its own resources to build the houses. He said their appointment as the city’s third social housing partner would not be a financial liability to the city, as had been the case with the Cape Town Community Housing Company.
The city resolved last month to spend R1,3m on fixing houses built by this company, an amount matched by the National Housing Finance Corporation.
The ANC’s regional secretary, Mbulelo Ncedana, called for Communicare to be closely monitored.
The ID’s Simon Grindrod said he had reservations about whether the company was the best applicant. DA councillor Clive Justus, a director of Communicare, recused himself from discussions on the matter.
Ncedana said the ANC supported the move but noted that Communicare had had positive and negative developments in its past when Masiphumelele residents were left with toilets and showers and no houses some years ago, after Communicare said it needed at least R10m of the R13,7m budgeted for buying and servicing the land.
Grindrod said he failed to understand how the city had scored the company a five-out-of-five given its track record.
The company said it had talked to Masiphumelele residents about whether the remaining money be used to benefit them all because there was not enough money left in the project to build everyone houses.
The ANC also refused to endorse a mayoral committee recommendation that The Housing Association, another housing company, be placed on a reserve list for a year as a potential housing partner.
Ncedana said there could be another company better able to meet the city’s expectations in the interim. Plato agreed to drop the recommendation.
The city had hoped to build 5,000 rental units by 2008 but, with its housing backlog now almost double that originally thought, it said it would have to re-think its targets. - Cape Argus
The Communicare housing company was appointed by a full sitting of the council despite concerns raised by the ANC and the ID.
Mayoral committee member for housing Dan Plato said he was confident Communicare would do a good job as the company was using its own resources to build the houses. He said their appointment as the city’s third social housing partner would not be a financial liability to the city, as had been the case with the Cape Town Community Housing Company.
The city resolved last month to spend R1,3m on fixing houses built by this company, an amount matched by the National Housing Finance Corporation.
The ANC’s regional secretary, Mbulelo Ncedana, called for Communicare to be closely monitored.
The ID’s Simon Grindrod said he had reservations about whether the company was the best applicant. DA councillor Clive Justus, a director of Communicare, recused himself from discussions on the matter.
Ncedana said the ANC supported the move but noted that Communicare had had positive and negative developments in its past when Masiphumelele residents were left with toilets and showers and no houses some years ago, after Communicare said it needed at least R10m of the R13,7m budgeted for buying and servicing the land.
Grindrod said he failed to understand how the city had scored the company a five-out-of-five given its track record.
The company said it had talked to Masiphumelele residents about whether the remaining money be used to benefit them all because there was not enough money left in the project to build everyone houses.
The ANC also refused to endorse a mayoral committee recommendation that The Housing Association, another housing company, be placed on a reserve list for a year as a potential housing partner.
Ncedana said there could be another company better able to meet the city’s expectations in the interim. Plato agreed to drop the recommendation.
The city had hoped to build 5,000 rental units by 2008 but, with its housing backlog now almost double that originally thought, it said it would have to re-think its targets. - Cape Argus
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