The City of Cape Town’s Portfolio Committee Chairperson for Human Settlements, Councillor Anda Ntsodo, and the Portfolio Committee members conducted an oversight visit to housing projects yesterday, 24 May 2022. The committee looked at three of the different housing opportunity types which are available to qualifying beneficiaries.

Councillor Ntsodo and the Portfolio Committee members conducted oversight visits to the Masiphumelele informal settlement, Pooke se Bos Breaking New Ground (BNG) project site in Gatesville and Steen Villa social housing project in Steenberg.

The City offers five main affordable housing opportunities. Each opportunity has specific qualifying criteria:

• BNG, formerly known as RDP houses

• GAP

• Upgrading of Informal Settlements Programme (UISP)

• Community Residential Units (CRU)

• Social Housing developed and managed by Social Housing Institutions (SHIs) as per the Social Housing Act and the requirements of the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA)

‘We visited these housing projects to check on the various types of opportunities which are available to qualifying beneficiaries across the metro. It is important that we have an on the ground understanding of the available opportunities and what our beneficiaries lives will look like while living in their new homes. We also wanted to see how we could potentially enhance the City’s service delivery offerings at the City’s project sites. The City allocated R2,8 billion for the City’s Human Settlements Directorate over three years, according to the draft Budget 2022/23. It will include budget for work on informal settlements upgrades and the enhancement of basic services, public housing maintenance, BNG housing and hostel transformation projects across the metro. As the Portfolio Committee, we help to hold the City to account and have oversight over the plans in action.

‘Our oversight visits to projects intend to ensure that the City does what its residents have come to expect from the City, the delivery of services. The Human Settlements Directorate has a number of projects at various stages in areas across the metro and we will assist and provide guidance where it is required,’ said Councillor Ntsodo.

Housing Needs Register

Beneficiaries of City housing projects will be selected in accordance with the City’s Housing Allocation Policy and Housing Needs Register to ensure housing opportunities are made available in a fair and transparent manner that prevents queue jumping and to those who qualify for housing as per the South African legislation.

The City’s political office bearers do not have access to or influence over the Register and its qualifying beneficiaries.

Source: City Of Cape Town