The first step has been taken to restore the dignity of those who have been living in a sprawling informal settlement right on the door step of the central business district.
The Newcastle Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works, Ravi Pillay, together with the Mayor of Newcastle, Afzul Rehman officiated he launch of the Siyahlala-la Housing Project near Fairleigh in Ward 25 on July 22.
Home to more than 1000 inhabitants since 1989, the informal settlement will be transformed into a first post – 1994 Integrated Residential Development Programme project (IRDP), enabling residents to be accommodated closer to their place of employment, in decent, fully serviced homes. The Siyahlala-la IRDP project is an in situ Informal Settlement Upgrade with an expected yield of 1200 units when completed.
The total cost of the project is more than R140-million, inclusive of the installation of internal and external services, consisting of water-borne sanitation, infrastructure as well as access roads and public transport roads.
Mr Pillay and Cllr Rehman launched the first batch of the 500 units, costing about R58-million.
The first foundation was laid of one of the 25 houses which will be built to relocate families presently residing on a water and sewage pipeline servitude.
“This is going to be another suburb, not a settlement,” said Cllr Rehman.
“The squalid informal settlement conditions these people have been inhabiting since 1989 have been an affront to their dignity, and we are elated their patience has paid off with the project finally getting of the ground,” concluded Mr Pillay.
Mr Pillay added, the launch of Siyahlala-la Housing Project will go a long way in restoring the dignity of the people of Siyahlala-la.
