Minister of Human Settlements’ 2016 Kya Sands response

On 13 May 2016, MP Cameron Mackenzie put forward a question to the National Assembly asking whether any plans have been put in place to formally house the residents of Kya Sands informal settlement.

He later received a formal written reply from the Minister of Human Settlements, Lindiwe Sisulu addressing what plans were in place, how many beneficiaries have been identified and when would such plans go ahead.
Sisulu said, “Yes, plans have been put in place to formally house the residents of the Kya Sands informal settlement. 

“Due to the dense nature of the informal settlement, there is not enough land surrounding the area to formalise the project. As a result, it was proposed that the project be developed in conjunction with the Lion Park project further north, near the Lanseria Airport.”

She added that the concept envisaged was that the Nietgedacht property, on which the Lion Park project would be located, would be formalised first because the density was lower.

“It should be noted that because of the high housing demand, both projects would be developed as high-density housing and as such incremental formalisation is not possible.”

Sisulu said 13 000 beneficiaries have been identified and the scope of the project was increased to include all informal settlements near Malibongwe Drive, between Kya Sands and Lanseria. 

“Eight thousand beneficiaries will be accommodated at the Lion Park development and 5 000 beneficiaries will be accommodated at the Kya Sands site. Beneficiaries from Lanseria/Freeway, Lanseria/Lion Park, Lanseria/Selina Park, Sands/iNanda Holding 57, Houtkoppen, Plot 5 Riverbed and Malatje informal settlements will be accommodated at the two developments.”

Planning for the project had been taking place since 2016 and was due to kick off this year, with delays reportedly experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic.