A crowd of about 300 mostly Joe Slovo residents marched on government housing agency Thubelisha and the First National Bank (FNB) on Wednesday in protest over the N2 Gateway bonded houses they say are being sold at unaffordable prices.
The marchers, led by the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, are also against the government's decision to sell a part of the Joe Slovo land, which is earmarked for the N2 Gateway project's second phase.
Campaign leader Mzonke Poni said FNB has been contracted by the government to build "unaffordable" bonded houses costing between R150,000 and R300,000. He said as a result of this public-private partnership, banks were also responsible for the "forced" removal of Joe Slovo residents.
"As the Anti-Eviction Campaign, it is simple: we want affordable houses for everyone. (The) government must build public housing, down with bond houses. We support the N2 Gateway but we are against the manner in which the development and process has been handled. When they build they hire these (private) companies, and communities aren't given an opportunity to give input on what kind of houses they want," said Poni.
Thubelisha general manager Prince Xhanti Sigcawu said the company would respond soon.
Head of FNB's housing finance division Marius Marais said the land allocated for the development of 35 show-houses is currently vacant.
"FNB also addressed the issue of affordability, stating that the show-houses are part of the government's integrated plan to provide affordable housing. The bank has already announced its development of 3,000 houses in the N2 Gateway Project that will be affordable to Joe Slovo residents, which in the main will be in the range between R150,000 and R300,000 per unit," said Marais.
Meanwhile the first 1 000 completed houses at Delft Symphony will be handed to the new owners on Sunday by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. Most of the families who will move into these houses are former fire victims from Joe Slovo.
Another 1,000 houses will be ready for occupation early next year.
The handover comes just weeks before thousands of former Joe Slovo residents will contest their eviction by the national housing department in the Cape High Court on December 12. They refused to move from informal settlements in Joe Slovo to temporary relocation areas (TRAs).
Itumelang Kotsoane, Director-General of the national department of housing, said residents from other informal settlements would move into the TRAs in place of the Joe Slovo fire victims.
"The N2 Gateway development cycle involves moving people from shacks to temporary relocation areas, to permanent homes. The faster we move people through temporary relocation areas, the faster we eradicate informal settlements," he observed.
The department plans to build 12 000 new units as part of the N2 Gateway development next year. - Cape Times
The marchers, led by the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign, are also against the government's decision to sell a part of the Joe Slovo land, which is earmarked for the N2 Gateway project's second phase.
Campaign leader Mzonke Poni said FNB has been contracted by the government to build "unaffordable" bonded houses costing between R150,000 and R300,000. He said as a result of this public-private partnership, banks were also responsible for the "forced" removal of Joe Slovo residents.
| 'we want affordable houses for everyone' |
Thubelisha general manager Prince Xhanti Sigcawu said the company would respond soon.
Head of FNB's housing finance division Marius Marais said the land allocated for the development of 35 show-houses is currently vacant.
"FNB also addressed the issue of affordability, stating that the show-houses are part of the government's integrated plan to provide affordable housing. The bank has already announced its development of 3,000 houses in the N2 Gateway Project that will be affordable to Joe Slovo residents, which in the main will be in the range between R150,000 and R300,000 per unit," said Marais.
Meanwhile the first 1 000 completed houses at Delft Symphony will be handed to the new owners on Sunday by Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu. Most of the families who will move into these houses are former fire victims from Joe Slovo.
Another 1,000 houses will be ready for occupation early next year.
The handover comes just weeks before thousands of former Joe Slovo residents will contest their eviction by the national housing department in the Cape High Court on December 12. They refused to move from informal settlements in Joe Slovo to temporary relocation areas (TRAs).
Itumelang Kotsoane, Director-General of the national department of housing, said residents from other informal settlements would move into the TRAs in place of the Joe Slovo fire victims.
"The N2 Gateway development cycle involves moving people from shacks to temporary relocation areas, to permanent homes. The faster we move people through temporary relocation areas, the faster we eradicate informal settlements," he observed.
The department plans to build 12 000 new units as part of the N2 Gateway development next year. - Cape Times
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