The City of Cape Town proposes to spend more than R850-million over the next three years on informal settlement upgrades and backyard services .
NEWS
Cape Town ’ s R850m upgrade
The City of Cape Town proposes to spend more than R850-million over the next three years on informal settlement upgrades and backyard services .
As part of its drive to transform living conditions in informal settlements , some R713-million is earmarked to be spent by the City ’ s Informal Settlements and Backyarder Department on backyarder service provision and the informal settlements upgrade programme between 2018 and 2021 .
At the same time , R150-million is planned to provide electricity services to backyard dwellers by the City ’ s Electricity Services Department .
“ The mainstreaming of basic service delivery to informal settlements and backyard dwellers and achieving excellence in basic service delivery in general , are pillars of the City ’ s transformational priorities in accordance with our Organisational Development and Transformation Plan .
“ The roll-out of the City ’ s backyarder and upgrade programmes are absolutely dependent on the cooperation of the communities involved and the support from the beneficiaries and other partners ,” says the City ’ s mayoral committee member for Informal Settlements , Water and Waste Services and Energy , councillor Xanthea Limberg . The proposed spend is part of the continuing shift that is happening in the human settlements sphere . The delivery model where government is the sole provider of housing opportunities , which consist mostly of costly formal housing characterised by lengthy processes , is unsustainable .
“ The increased focus on backyarders , the upgrading of informal settlements and associated expansion of services is therefore a wave of change that is rolling over the human settlement sphere . We hope that this focus will enable us to not only improve the lives of our residents but that , going forward , we will be able to provide housing opportunities on a larger scale than before ,” concludes Limberg .
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