RDP houses for Summerstrand

SIX mega development projects planned for Nelson Mandela Bay over the next five years are set to dramatically change the face of the metro, as the municipality plans to build free and low-cost social houses in upmarket suburbs like Summerstrand and Vanes Estate.

The housing projects in Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage – also proposed for Walmer, Fairview, KwaNobuhle, Joe Slovo, Motherwell and Helenvale – will provide 58321 units, significantly slashing the Bay's 80000 housing backlog.

At a human settlements committee meeting earlier this week, the department's executive director, Lindile Petuna, presented a report on the city's six priority projects from this year to 2019.

Although a highly contentious issue, which is likely to upset many home-owners in the affluent areas, the projects seek to embrace the government's call for integrated communities.

The projects will cater for middle- to low-income groups, with subsidised, rental, affordable and low- income housing units.

In Petuna's report, he said the projects would cost R14.97-billion to implement.

Human Settlements Minister Lindiwe Sisulu this year committed R17.1-billion and R10.3-billion towards mega projects in six metropolitan municipalities to build houses and install infrastructure services respectively.

It is not yet clear how much of that will be allocated to the Bay, as it only recently submitted its five-year business plan to the Treasury and awaits its approval.

The money that would be allocated for the mega projects is over and above the normal housing and infrastructure budget allocations to the city.

Petuna said that in the Summerstrand, Forest Hill and Driftsands area the RDP, social and Flisp houses would be built in the area behind the Strandfontein Sasol garage and Forest Hill cemetery, linking Summerstrand to Walmer.

He said later that the city was acting on a directive from Sisulu who wanted business plans for mega development projects that would make a major difference. A total of R77.1-million has been allocated to the metro over four financial years for the planning and implementation of the mega projects, which Petuna said was to enhance the city's staff and resource capacity to effectively implement the projects.

Although the Bay is set to be awarded Level 3 accreditation status – which means it will receive housing grants directly from the Treasury and not Bhisho – it has not yet been approved.

"The government wants big projects that will make a difference," Petuna said.

"It doesn't only want to know about little housing projects that we are doing here and there.

"I'm sure the location of the projects will be a sore point which people will object to, but we need to integrate communities – it's government's policy.

"Of course, we need to be sensitive about it because some people say that their property values will go down.

"But we're saying we have not seen that building RDP and social houses has dropped the values of property.

"Take Cosmo City, for instance, which is a case study to see what will happen if you introduce a mixture of houses in a high-income area. The values have not dropped.

"We obviously have to look at the design guidelines for the RDP houses; we don't want the houses to stick out," he said.

In affluent areas, the city would take care to ensure that Flisp (finance linked individual subsidy programme) houses – mortgaged house which are government-subsidised for people who earn up to R17000 a month – were closest to the posh houses.

Thereafter, the social houses – rental units for people earning between R3500 and R15000 – would be built. The free RDP homes would be furthest from the upmarket homes.

"We have informed the national government that these are our projects planned until 2019 and they are ready for implementing," Petuna said.

"All areas, except for a portion in Walmer [Gqebera] have services already, so there won't be any need to install bulk services.

"This entire project is bringing new thinking to the people," he said.

The DA's Andrew Gibbon said the plan had to be supported because it was the only way to obtain money from the central government to develop houses. "We need a plan in place to eradicate the massive housing backlog ... It's a flexible plan, so it's not cast in stone.

"It's the policy of the country to integrate communities.

"Apartheid is gone forever. It's not coming back ever, so people need to accept integration," Gibbon said. - Rochelle de Kock