Deputy Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, David Mahlobo on Sunday visited the City of Johannesburg on Sunday 20 October 2019, to conduct an inspection on the urban renewal projects.

The urban renewal projects form part of Government’s plan to build affordable housing closer to economic opportunities. Leading the inspection, Deputy Minister David Mahlobo along with the Gauteng Department of Human Settlement’s HOD, Daniel Molokomme noted tremendous progress made in the construction of affordable housing units in the city centre.

Deputy Minister Mahlobo noted that the national government had committed over R1 Billion Rand towards the development of the inner-city regions across the country.

“The R1 Billion Rand Government investment will be distributed through the Social Housing Regulatory Authority. The investment will go towards restructuring city centre accommodation by providing low to medium income households with housing opportunities in well serviced areas of high economic activity,” said Mahlobo.

He further emphasised the importance of spatial planning in order to accommodate the vast migration into the city centre.

“When we look at our flagship program, the National Development Plan, it is quite clear that there is a need for spatial planning in our cities. This is in order to accommodate the vast population which migrates into the city in search of economic opportunities”, said Mahlobo

The renewal projects that were visited include, Plein Street Social Housing Project, Kelvin Student Accommodation, Jewel City Urban Renewal Project and Turfontein Social Housing Project amongst others.

Source: Gauteng Province