The much-publicised multimillion-rand Masiphumelele housing project has finally been approved by the Department of Local Government and Housing after long delays.
Lutz van Dijk, board member of NGO Amakhaya Ngoku, which initiated the development, said the organisation had received a letter of confirmation from Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi's office "as promised".
Institutional housing subsidies totalling R27,5-million have been allocated to the development of 352 sectional-title flats in the informal settlement near Kommetjie, near Cape Town.
Amakhaya Ngoku, meaning Homes Now, was established in 2006 after a fire destroyed the settlement, displacing more than 1,000 people.
Construction of a three-storey block of 12 flats was to start in September, but more money was needed to cover the shortfall of the R62-million development, due to be completed by October 2009.
Van Dijk said R17-million had already been raised.
He said the green light from government reflected a "sustainable partnership" between public housing agencies, private donors and communities.
The project has, in the past few months, been dogged by controversy after millionaire Lord Irvine Laidlaw threatened to withdraw R5,5-million he had pledged towards the project, after the government failed to meet him officially to discuss the project. But after an 11th hour meeting with Dyantyi in March, Laidlaw reaffirmed his contribution.
Laidlaw has interests in the area as he owns an estate in Noordhoek.
An anonymous donor has also pledged his financial commitment.
Pastor Patrick Diba, Amakhaya Ngoku spokesperson and deputy chairman, said the stamp of approval could not have been more timeous.
"This approval is the culmination of many months of hard work by many people towards the vision of creating homes for over 1,200 people living in appalling conditions," he said.
It was reported previously that the 1,200 residents of School Site, the area where the new development, had been forced to share 40 toilets.
Diba said the approval gave real hope to other communities, who, if organised properly, could assist housing authorities in alleviating the housing backlog in Cape Town.
- Cape Argus
Lutz van Dijk, board member of NGO Amakhaya Ngoku, which initiated the development, said the organisation had received a letter of confirmation from Housing MEC Richard Dyantyi's office "as promised".
Institutional housing subsidies totalling R27,5-million have been allocated to the development of 352 sectional-title flats in the informal settlement near Kommetjie, near Cape Town.
Amakhaya Ngoku, meaning Homes Now, was established in 2006 after a fire destroyed the settlement, displacing more than 1,000 people.
Construction of a three-storey block of 12 flats was to start in September, but more money was needed to cover the shortfall of the R62-million development, due to be completed by October 2009.
Van Dijk said R17-million had already been raised.
He said the green light from government reflected a "sustainable partnership" between public housing agencies, private donors and communities.
The project has, in the past few months, been dogged by controversy after millionaire Lord Irvine Laidlaw threatened to withdraw R5,5-million he had pledged towards the project, after the government failed to meet him officially to discuss the project. But after an 11th hour meeting with Dyantyi in March, Laidlaw reaffirmed his contribution.
Laidlaw has interests in the area as he owns an estate in Noordhoek.
An anonymous donor has also pledged his financial commitment.
Pastor Patrick Diba, Amakhaya Ngoku spokesperson and deputy chairman, said the stamp of approval could not have been more timeous.
"This approval is the culmination of many months of hard work by many people towards the vision of creating homes for over 1,200 people living in appalling conditions," he said.
It was reported previously that the 1,200 residents of School Site, the area where the new development, had been forced to share 40 toilets.
Diba said the approval gave real hope to other communities, who, if organised properly, could assist housing authorities in alleviating the housing backlog in Cape Town.
- Cape Argus
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