Funding for subsidised housing in the Western Cape increases dramatically in the coming financial year, according to the provincial budget tabled on Tuesday.
The funds the province gives to municipalities to build subsidised housing will climb by 58,4%, from R599-million in the 2006/07 budget to R949-million in 2007/08.
The increase will be used to provide “higher quality and better-located houses”, according to the provincial treasury.
In her budget speech, provincial minister of finance Lynne Brown said this would often be done by upgrading informal settlements.
She said housing had been ranked by respondents in a survey conducted for the treasury as the most important infrastructure priority, above roads, community facilities and basic services.
She said a conditional grant from national government of R900-million had been earmarked for Cape Town’s N2 Gateway housing project, initiated by the city’s African National Congress administration ahead of last year’s local government elections.
The project, being run by the province rather than the city, has been plagued by delays and controversy, and has delivered only 2,000 units of the 22,000 that the national Housing Ministry promised would be built by the end of last year.
The city said last week that about 200 yet-to-be-occupied homes had been condemned because of substandard flooring and foundations.
It has also criticised the fact that the new homes cost more than the per-unit subsidy, which it says pushes the rentals beyond the reach of the people they were meant for. — Sapa
The funds the province gives to municipalities to build subsidised housing will climb by 58,4%, from R599-million in the 2006/07 budget to R949-million in 2007/08.
The increase will be used to provide “higher quality and better-located houses”, according to the provincial treasury.
In her budget speech, provincial minister of finance Lynne Brown said this would often be done by upgrading informal settlements.
She said housing had been ranked by respondents in a survey conducted for the treasury as the most important infrastructure priority, above roads, community facilities and basic services.
She said a conditional grant from national government of R900-million had been earmarked for Cape Town’s N2 Gateway housing project, initiated by the city’s African National Congress administration ahead of last year’s local government elections.
The project, being run by the province rather than the city, has been plagued by delays and controversy, and has delivered only 2,000 units of the 22,000 that the national Housing Ministry promised would be built by the end of last year.
The city said last week that about 200 yet-to-be-occupied homes had been condemned because of substandard flooring and foundations.
It has also criticised the fact that the new homes cost more than the per-unit subsidy, which it says pushes the rentals beyond the reach of the people they were meant for. — Sapa
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