Promises rekindled for uMbhayi housing recipients
The embattled project has faced numerous delays over the last six years.
The highly anticipated R52-million uMbhayi housing project was recently relaunched in Tongaat – six years after its initial launch in 2017.
The embattled project faced numerous delays allegedly owing to prolonged civil infrastructure work, the Covid-19 lockdown and private landowner claims.
The development will hopefully address long-standing housing issues in the area.
Earlier this year, Umbayi informal settlement residents protested the prolonged delay in delivering the promised RDP housing project, highlighting for example critical issues such as a reliance on illegal electricity connections that have led to tragic fatalities.
The project will entail 779 double-storey housing units, set to be completed by April 2027.
eThekwini mayor Mxolisi Kaunda announced that construction would unfold in three phases, benefitting the local community through skills transfer and employment opportunities.
Local businesses are also set to gain from insourcing and the production of building materials.
“We are on a mission to eradicate transit camps by 2026. We have already relocated 300 families from the Isiphingo transit camp to the recently completed Kanku Road Housing Project.
“Last year we issued more than 500 title deeds, providing property ownership to previously disadvantaged families,” said Kaunda.
The municipality gave the assurance that appointed service provider will handle health and safety matters, work permits, labour, sureties, and insurances before site establishment.
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