After a number of site visits to the site of the Dobsonville Social Housing Project by the MMC for Housing, Cllr Meshack Van Wyk, accompanied by the executive management team of the Johannesburg Social Housing Company (Joshco), the challenges raised by the broader community of Dobsonville are closer to being resolved.
The realisation of the Dobsonville Social Housing Project is most certainly a demonstration of the collective effort of the political and administrative leadership of the City of Johannesburg.
In fulfillment of the vision of becoming a high performing beneficiary-centric organisation, active engagement with the affected community was prioritised. A public meeting was convened on 27 June 2019 where all stakeholders were given an opportunity to express their views on the project. One of the commitments made at the public meeting was that a helpdesk would be established on site to address all queries.
On 15 July 2019, we upheld this commitment and I had the pleasure of attending JOSHCO’s Open Day at the Dobsonville Social Housing Project where the helpdesk was launched. Over 2000 people attended and applications for rentals opportunities were being administered. It was a fulfilment of a promise made to the people of Dobsonville at various community meetings preceding this event. The event showcased democracy in action as we responded to the pleas of the people who wanted a platform to engage on all issues concerning housing.
This development being a Social Housing project caters for residents who earn a monthly income of R1500 to R15 000. The rentals vary from R850 to R1300 for a one bedroom and R1800 to R3700 for a two bedroom flat. The ‘Open Days’ are scheduled to run from the 15 July to 19 July 2019 and not only caters for rental applications, but also queries on RDP houses. These sessions also provides an opportunity for job seekers
The sizeable turnout of people at the launch of the helpdesk brings to the fore a desperate need by our people for affordable rental accommodation. We however remain hopeful that the recent release of over 80 properties in the Inner City will lead to much needed additional capacity in the affordable rentals market.
Please note that the Dobsonville Social Housing Project is currently only open to residents of Dobsonville.
