Siyahlahlah-la’s future looks brighter
“This is a slum clearance project, that not only looks to remove unsightly developments from the town, but also create a suburb that can be a positive influence on the people staying there, and the developments of the town as a whole,” said Cllr Shunmugam.
Siyahlahlah-la literally translates into: ‘We are staying here’.
With the current proposal to have a housing development project change the face of Siyahlahlah-la well on its way, it seems to be just a matter of time before the informal settlement is transformed into a true suburb of Newcastle.
Mayor, Afzul Rehman, confirmed that the Provincial Department of Human Settlements had granted the funding for the project, and once the basic infrastructure had been completed, new homes would be built.
Cllr Rehman idealistically hoped Siyahlahlah-la would one day be a fully equipped suburb like Paradise, Aviary Hill and Hutten Heights.
“Siyahlahlah-la is a bush. We want to change this. When we took over the municipality in 2009, we took a decision upon ourselves to build up Siyahlala-la rather than to relocate the people there,” said Cllr Rehman earlier this year.
Now, the project is nearing its final stages of service delivery development, and construction of the homes will possibly begin early next year.
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Human Settlements, Ravi Pillay, believed it would take approximately two years to complete.
“The first phase of construction will include 837 units for Siyahlala-la and there are three phases planned in total,” explained Mr Pillay.
Portfolio Councillor of Human Settlements, Matthew Shunmugam, explained that already more than 1 000 beneficiaries had applied and been awarded homes in the area.
These beneficiaries were aligned with the Integrated Development policies of national government, which stipulated that all groups of people were allowed to acquire homes in the area.
“This is a slum clearance project, that not only looks to remove unsightly developments from the town, but also create a suburb that can be a positive influence on the people staying there, and the developments of the town as a whole,” said Cllr Shunmugam.
Currently, the final stages of water, sewage and electrical networks will be completed in the area before a MIG funded road network will be built to accommodate the new traffic in the area.
The future of Siyahlahlah-la is looking brighter, but people in the area still hold some grudges against the development.
However, the decisions have been made, and the project will lift off in the near future.
