Public Works Land Released For Housing

“The intended 7 100 hectares for release under the human settlements program are divided as follows: The Western Cape has 1 144 hectares, the Eastern Cape has 532 hectares, KZN has 5 160 hectares, the Northern Cape has 0.6 hectares, Limpopo has 50 hectares, Mpumalanga has 21 hectares, and the Free State has 258 hectares.

 

She went on to say that scheduled releases are dependent on what is requested in a particular province and how far the land release process has progressed, allowing the land to be distributed this year.

 

Geordin Hill-Lewis, the mayor of Cape Town, also stated on Thursday that the city had 6 500 social housing units in the pipeline over 50 property parcels.

He also requested council for permission to build 760 social housing units within mixed-use, mixed-market buildings in the inner city, he claimed.

 

According to Chief Josh Samuels of the Knoflokskraal settlement in the Elgin-Grabouw Valley, the government’s priority should be land restoration to the Khoi and San. The Public Works site has been occupied since December 2020, and approximately 3000 people now live there.

 

“Our towns are experiencing a severe housing crisis. “Our rights as Khoi and San must be restored; give us the land, and we will care for our people,” said Chief Josh Samuels of Knoflokskraal.

Bevil Lucas, a Reclaim the City housing campaigner, stated that while the allocation is helpful, the largest difficulty is the competition between national, provincial, and local administrations.

 

“Neither party’s interests are the same. On the one hand, the national government is dedicated, but the province and city are not. The fact that we have over 20 occupations in the wider city demonstrates the seriousness and magnitude of the housing need.”