Mayor Mashaba breaks ground ahead of JOSHCO’s new R120 million Housing Project

12 Nov 2019 in Where We Govern

This afternoon, MMC for Housing, Cllr Meshack van Wyk and I joined the Johannesburg Social Housing Company’s (JOSHCO) Board Chairperson, Mr Tumelo Mlangeni, in Blairgowrie, to break ground on the entity’s new high-density social housing scheme.

The project is on ERF 34 – 40 in Blairgowrie and falls in the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) category, as it is situated next to major public transport routes and terminals.

ERF 34 – 40, which is the first social housing development in the area, will consist of 145 building units varying in size – bachelors, one bedroom, and two bedroom units.

This development will accommodate mixed income households with a gross income ranging between R1,500 and R15,000 per month. It is aimed at integrating mixed income groups to achieve social, economic and spatial integration.

This important development will incorporate communal spaces, including play areas, drying yards, security and maintenance staff facilities, a clubhouse, and a refuse area.

Earlier this year, Council adopted the Inclusionary Housing: Incentives, Regulations and Mechanisms Framework. This is an important step as the City seeks to address the spatial inequality associated with apartheid-era development planning.

The framework requires and incentivizes private developers to dedicate 30% of new residential developments to affordable housing.

This seeks to ensure that densities are increased in a manner that facilitates the co-existence of people belonging to varied income profiles.

The need for an Inclusionary Housing Framework was identified in the City’s Spatial Development Framework 2040 (SDF 2040) adopted by Council in 2016. Specifically it identified the need to facilitate and guide the provision of inclusionary housing by the private sector in private housing developments.

The SDF 2040 highlights the issue of the housing and job mismatch in the City with a large portion of the population in the City concentrated in areas of limited or no employment opportunity. It further advocates for densification in areas of favourable employment which in turn happen to be the areas the City has invested heavily in.

The adoption of the Inclusionary Housing Framework affirms the commitment of the multi-party government to building an inclusive society that provides meaningful redress through pro-poor development.

I would like to commend MMC Van Wyk and the team at JOSHCO for their continued dedication to prioritising social and inclusionary housing in Johannesburg and I wish them well for future projects.

I would like to thank the DA caucus as well as members of our coalition government; the IFP, ACDP, COPE, UDM and Freedom Front Plus for their continued support in delivering quality basic services to our residents.

I am also thankful for the contributions of the EFF which, although not a member of the coalition, votes with us on an issue by issue basis.