The Regent Villa Social Housing Project in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town, was visited in February by representatives from human settlements’ entities – the Social Housing Regulatory Authority (SHRA), the National Housing Finance Cooperation and the Housing Development Association – together with the member of the mayoral committee (MMC) for human settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi.

Coordinated partnerships

The visit formed part of a greater commitment to further enhance social housing development in the Western Cape by the Department of Human Settlements, the SHRA and the City of Cape Town. Mpolai Nkopane, the acting chief executive officer of the SHRA, indicated that the SHRA together with Councillor Booi and Jeordin Hill-Lewis, the executive mayor of Cape Town, met to strategically coordinate partnerships between all the relevant stakeholders.

“It gives us pleasure to solidify the stakeholder relationships and fulfil the mandate given to the SHRA to deliver social housing opportunities to the people of Cape Town,” added Busisiwe Nzo, newly elected chairperson of the SHRA.

A national target

The National Department of Human Settlements, through the National Development Plan, has set a national target for the SHRA to deliver 18 000 units during the Medium-Term Strategic Framework (MTSF) for 2019 to 2024. The current target for the Western Cape is 2 736 housing units. Nzo explained that to date the delivery of social housing units within the current MTSF period stands at 1 110 for the City of Cape Town.

“There are currently eight projects under implementation in the Western Cape, consisting of 2 859 units. However, three of these projects have been impacted due to challenges in meeting conditions precedent and financial closure requirements of the consolidated capital grant (CCG).

“This calls for more participation and planning between the SHRA and the City of Cape Town to achieve our targets. It is with good intentions that we continue to work together, with the support of the City of Cape Town, to strategically be able to reach our goal,” explained Nzo.

Regent Villas

Meanwhile, the Regent Villas social housing development in Mitchells Plain comprises 104 units in Phase 1 and 60 units in Phase 2. The 104 units are currently tenanted, and 60 units are still under construction.

Members of the SHRA and the Mayoral Committee Executive met with tenants to establish how their lives have been impacted since moving into a social housing environment during the recent project visit.

“Social housing is integrated into the community with easy access to transport nodes to enable tenants to commute to work and school. The safety of the community is paramount and there is 24-hour security surveillance, as well as adequate waste management services, at the project,” said Nzo.

For more information, contact the SHRA:
Tel: +71 380 9426
Email: mandlaM@shra.org.za
Website: https://saaffordablehousing.co.za/

For more projects like these, subscribe to our free magazine on http://tiny.cc/fwsubs Sign up for our newsletter: https://www.buildinganddecor.co.za/ or join other discussions on http://www.facebook.com/buildinganddecor, http://www.twitter.com/buildingdecor and https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/10172797/