December, completion period for social housing
Good news for locals who are in search of places to live in.
The development of 502 social housing units in Dobsonville, Soweto, is expected to be completed by December, with tenants set to move in as soon as early next year.
This was revealed during the Tirisano Mmogo tour of Region D, which includes Dobsonville, by the City of Johannesburg’s Members of the Mayoral Committee, officials and other stakeholders.
Acting CEO of JOSHCO, Success Marota said of the 502 units, 152 would be one-bedroomed flats, whereas the balance would consist of two bedrooms each.
Marota said: “A number of the 350 two-bedroomed units had been earmarked for people with disabilities.The development started in May 2014.
“Residents interested in renting a flat must earn between R3 500 and R7 500 a month.
“Rent for single-bedroom flats has been set at between R900 and R950 a month, whereas two-bedroomed units will be available at R2 000-a-month rent,” said Marota.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development, Chris Vondo, who was part of the entourage, said the Dobsonville social housing development was part of Johannesburg Executive Mayor Parks Tau’s drive to change people’s lives.
“We came here to see the progress that has been made. When Mayor Tau outlined his priorities at the beginning of his term, one of them was to restore people’s pride and dignity and that’s exactly what this development sets out to do,” he said.
He said the development would improve public safety.
“We’re excited about the progress that has been made and this development will also benefit young people.
“The mayor’s vision was for different parts of Johannesburg to co-exist and be integrated. The city was aware of the housing backlog and had put several interventions in place to reduce it.
“We’re re-stitching the City through the Corridors of Freedom and we want people to be closer together,” said Vondo.
The Dobsonville development had created employment, especially for the youth.
The new development would continue to create more job opportunities through the Jozi@Work empowerment and employment programme.
This would include the cleaning and maintenance of the flats.
SMMEs from the area have been contracted to work on this project.
