The City of Cape Town’s R7,8 million Wallacedene 4 in 1 informal settlement upgrade project is going well. The project involves the provision of 269 services sites for qualifying beneficiaries as well as one-to-one services and improved access ways to enhance basic and emergency service delivery and tenure.
The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Human Settlements, Councillor Malusi Booi, along with other dignitaries and City officials visited this Upgrading of Informal Settlements Project in Wallacedene, Kraaifontein today, 16 September 2021.
The settlement will have sewer and water connections on a one-on-one basis and roads and stormwater services. Construction is under way and progressing well. The underground services and roads are complete and the City is currently placing toilets and water points on each serviced site. This is in line with the City’s commitment of bringing greater formality to informal settlements where it is possible to do so, to mainstream basic services provision and to improve the lives of its most vulnerable residents amid rapid urbanisation and growing informality.
‘The R7,8 million project is expected to be completed toward the end of this year, if all goes according to plan. Households from Wallacedene 4 in 1 informal settlement and other qualifying beneficiaries will be accommodated with improved living conditions. It also enables economic opportunities in the area due to local labour, and other services, being used where possible. Importantly, our redesign and upgrade enhances safety as clear access ways are being created for basic and emergency services. In this settlement, and others across the metro, which has been created in an unplanned manner by occupants, structures are so close together that it is an extreme health and safety risk. Our City teams find it difficult to provide basic and emergency services, where we can. It is essential that this be improved for these residents.
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‘We are not going to address the extreme housing need in Cape Town, and in the rest of South Africa, by focusing only on the formal subsidy housing model. We are going to have to be innovative and drive the upgrade of informal settlements where it is possible to do so. That is why we have earmarked more than R1,3 billion for formalising informal accommodation such as informal settlements and backyard dwellings in the medium term.
‘Urbanisation is not a municipal challenge alone, all tiers of government, the private sector and civic organisations, must work together and ensure that we work together to address rapid urbanisation. We must bring our communities on board with the alternatives that there are on offer. These upgrade projects are all about partnerships and innovation. This project, as with all City projects, is dependent on community support and cooperation. We thank the communities for their patience and for working with the City over the years to ensure that this upgrade project becomes a reality,’ said Councillor Booi.
