The World is Watching

>Africa is watching!

Defining Housing Rights

While the majority of the world’s population lives in some form of dwelling, roughly one-half of the world’s population does not enjoy the full spectrum of entitlements necessary for housing to be considered adequate. According to international human rights law, in order for housing to be adequate it must provide more than just four walls and a roof over one’s head; it must, at a minimum, include the following elements:

Security of Tenure, Availability of Services, Affordability, Habitability, Accessibility, Location & Culturally Adequate.

For more see: http://www.cohre.org/hrframe.htm

Making a killing

Tapping electricity illegally from Eskom power lines is big business in townships across the country.

Government delivery a ticking timebomb

[South Africa] The government's inability to provide basic services such as water, electricity and sanitation for poverty-stricken South Africans is threatening to boil over as the municipal elections draw closer. Edwin Naidu reports... Full Story...

Questionable Commitment

Cape Government housing decided that this is not an “open” Summit and therefore attendance will be by invitation and nomination only.

Beyond the Brick Human Settlement Summit 2005

Outcome Expectations: What kind of long-term solutions work on "invitation" only?

Fire razes Joe Slovo shacks

Residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in the Western Cape have once again become the victims of a blazing fire, which has destroyed 60 Shacks, leaving 150 destitute. Full Story....

Rasool urges drastic action on housing

From A select few who attened the BEYOND THE BRICK Conference which was by invite only.
Urgency: Ebrahim Rasool

Before hostilities and suspicion around housing delivery in the Western Cape became entrenched, hard decisions needed to be taken about how this massive challenge should be tackled, premier Ebrahim Rasool has warned. Full Story....

Photo: Cape Argus

Red Ants & Bullets in Hillbrow housing

Persuasive argument: Policemen fire rubber bullets at occupants of the Crest Hill building in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, who refused to vacate the unsafe building during an eviction operation before dawn on Friday. The police arrested 135 illegal immigrants. (Werner Beukes, Sapa)

http://www.mg.co.za/

Joe Slovo residents build homes in the ashes

The residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement outside Cape Town have returned to the site of this week's devastating fire to rebuild their homes amid the ashes and ruins. Full Story....

How to build a cannabis home.

Demonstrated out side the Department of Housing

1. Plant a cannabis seed. Water and allow the plant to grow and produce seed. Plant and water these seeds. Your goal is to grow enough to build a house, you will need about 1 acre to build a 5 roomed home.
   
   Tyala imbewu ntsangu (ye-cannabis). Nkcenkceshela imbewu uze uyinike ithuba lokuba ikhule ide ikhuphe eyayo imbewu. Uyothi ke uyityale nalembewu uyinkcenkceshele njalo. Injongo yakho kukukhulisa izityalo ezothi zonele ekwakheni indlu, uyakudinga i-acre (malunga nentsimi) enye ukuze wakhe indlu enamagumbi amahlanu.
   
   
2. Consider the many relevant points presented in the guidelines of Build your house step-by-step.
   
   Qwalasela yonke imigaqo oyibekelweyo kwincwadana i-Build Your House Step By Step.
   
   
   
   Download book from: InternAfrica
   
3. Start planning where your house will stand. Consider everything about the environment you’ll be building in, like winter and summer sunshine, wind and rain – you don’t want to build on a floodplain, or your house will wash away. Be sure to plan all your water and waste requirements.
   
   Ceba indawo ozokwakha kuyo indlu yakho. Qwalasela yonke into ngomhlaba lo uzokwakha kuwo indlu yakho, izinto ezinje ngemimoya, ilanga, neemvula zehlobo nobusika, akekho umntu ofuna ukwakha indlu yakhe emgxobhozweni okanye apho iyothi ibe lilifa lezikhukhula khona. Uqiniseke ukuba unamanzi akulungeleyo ukwenza oku.
   
   
4. Cut the grown cannabis plants down and leave in the field to rhett for a week. The morning dew and natural rotting process will loosen the fibers from the plant.
   
   a. Process the plant matter by cutting leaves and branches off, then hit small bundles the length of the plant over and upturned rake.
   b. The long fiber parts that remain in your hand are good for weaving rugs and making various other items your skills can accomplish.
   c. The seed can be gathered for more housing.
   d. Gather the small woody bits (the hurd) that have fallen, this waste is what will be used in the construction material.
   
   Sika / sarha izityalo uzibeke egadini ixesha elingangeveki ukuze zibole. Umbethe wasekuseni nezinye izinto zendalo ezibolisayo ziya kuyikhulula I-fibre ezityalweni.
   
   a. Yikhawulezise ngohlukanisa intonga zezityalo namagqabi, uhlale uyiharika rhoqo.
   b. Intonga ezi zinothi zincede kwezinye izinto ezifana nokwenza ingubo nezinye izinto onothi uzibonele zona ngokolwazi lwakho.
   c. Imbewu inokuqokelelwe ukwakha ezinye izindlu.
   d. Qokelela imithana ethe yaziwela njengokuba uzoyisebenzisa xa usakha indlu yakho.
   
   
5. Wash the hurd, dry it, then wash it again. Be careful not to allow the matter to rot or decay during this process, by turning, airing and allowing the African sun to dry the hurd properly. Now combine in proportions 10:2:3:3 combine the cannabis/ntsangu/dagga Hurd(10), washed river sand 0.5mm(2), hydraulic lime(3) and water(3) to make the mulch (This process may need tweaking depending on your geographic location, humidity, rainfall etc)
   
   Hlamba ingqokelela yakho, uyomise, uphinde uyihlambe.Ulumkele ukuba lengqokelela ibole kwelithuba, yiguquguqule, uyivumele ibethwe ngumoya uvumele nelanga lase Afrika liyomise lengqokelela. Dibanisa ngokwalo mgaqo 10:2:3:3, dibanisa ke lemvuno yakho yomgquba wentsangu (10) kunye nesanti yasemlanjeni 0.5mm(2), ikalika (3) kunye namanzi (3) ukwenza udaka (Nale into ke iyokuthi ixhomekeke kwindawo leyo ukuyo nemvula zakhona njalo-njalo).
   
   
6. Now build your house! Ngoku ke yakha indlu yakho!
   
   
7. Teach others. Fundisa abanye.
   
   
   

· You can use this “dagga-cement” for making bricks, shutter casting or the proven “pole-and-dagga” method. This last method allows for a sturdy, warm, fireproof and water proof home – built with pride and intuitive engineering, not a ‘uniform box’.

Be sure to consider all aspects of your house design and structural requirements. Although the cannabis-cement will become stronger than steel in time, it is not advised to build over 2 floors high without considering structural implications. With planning this cement can be used to build up to 4 floors high.

The cannabis-cement will dry over a period of a month (depending on the weather). At this point you will be able to add the roof. Seal your home’s walls with lime; lime external walls annually.

Decorate your house with masonry to make it unique, and paint with coloured lime as per custom.

Always PLANT A TREE in a place that will provide shade, to commemorate this accomplishment.

Council will plant trees if citizens care for them. Call (021) 689-8938 http://www.trees.org.za/

Assist your family, friends or neighbors with your experience and expertise. Share information and technique; you can uplift yourself and your community.

Tell your friends and colleagues about the Habitat JAM!

http://www.habitatjam.com/

Housing Sustainable Development

RDP Houses sold for R300

INTERVENTION from the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in the illegal sale of RDP houses has yielded no results, as people continue to engage in these transactions.... more

Blessed Katiyo Richard Dyantyi, the Western Cape local government and housing minister, has called for a sustainable human settlement summit to be held. The aim is to alleviate the housing crisis in the province.

http://www.capegateway.gov.za/eng/your_gov/325

The summit, bringing together a number of stakeholders, among them communities, business construction sector companies, academics, housing practitioners and government representatives, will be held to discuss housing issues in the province.“We are going to be demonstrating pilot projects that have important key features for us some supported by employers others driven by government itself others cross subsidized,” said Dyantyi.

Tell your friends and colleagues about the Habitat JAM!
http://www.habitatjam.com/

The province has a serious housing backlog and the minister hopes discussions at the summit will help ease problems in housing administration. Some of the problems include industrialists who refused to have new housing communities in their vicinities. The minister was optimistic that such red-tape will be removed.

http://www.sabcnews.com/economy/business/0,2172,116860,00.html

About 35 illegal squatters in the Nkqubela settlement of Robertson insist on remaining underneath a 66kV power line although they are putting their lives at risk and are frustrating Eskom, its 8 000 customers and the municipality.
http://capetimes.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=271&fArticleId=3008350

R53m meant for Cape public transport unspent

The chairperson of the standing committee on finance and economic development, Garth Strachan, has lashed out at the department of transport and public works for poor management of its budget - with almost R100-million unspent in the last financial year. Full Story....

Disappointed Min delivery

Lindiwe Sisulu, the minister of housing, has promised drastic changes in the R3 billion housing N2 project near Cape Town, which planned to have 22 000 units built by next year.

To date, only 240 houses have been built.

The project which was hailed as one of the most innovative housing projects has run into serious difficulties, and shack dwellers at the Joe Slovo informal settlement say there has been no consultation from government about who will be housed there.

There has also been reports that construction is behind schedule and contractors have not been paid and scaling down to cut costs.

Housing anger as shacks burn

As fire-weary residents of Joe Slovo fled in anger from the 16th blaze to hit the informal settlement this year, rendering another 600 homeless, the DA charged that there may not be enough money to house them. [Full Story...]

Frantic endeavour: Residents of Joe Slovo informal settlement yesterday scramble to rescue their possessions as a wall of flame advances. Photo: Alan Taylor

Joe Slovo shacks hit by another blaze

Some 50 shacks are reportedly on fire in the vicinity of the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Langa, Cape Town. Read more ...

Housing protest in PE continues

A handful of residents of Kleinskool in Port Elizabeth were still burning tyres in the streets by 9am this morning, in protest over alleged poor service delivery, Eastern Cape police said. Read more ...

Residents in court as CTCHC homes catch fire

While residents were doing battle in a packed Cape High Court courtroom over their refusal to pay for their homes, firefighters were battling to save some of the houses. A'eysha Kassiem investigates...

Partly funded by the City of Cape Town and the National Housing Finance Corporation, the Cape Town Community Housing Company (CTCHC) has taken legal action against the residents, as well as community leader, David Valentine, over the outstanding payments.

The embattled CTCHC has previously been in the line of fire for alleged construction defects in other low-cost housing developments. The case was postponed to February 16 after residents asked the court for more time to establish legal representation."I was at the high court when I got the call from neighbours that the house was on fire," said Gillian Davids.

Full Story....

Wave of land occupations in Lavender Hill

Since the start of November there have been a wave of land occupations in the area of Lavender Hill. First, on the weekend of the 4th of November about 40 families occupied land in Hillview, forming a new settlement called Chinatown. The occupation started on Friday night and by the time that the Council came to look on Monday morning most of the shacks had been completed - meaning that the Council would have to start eviction proceedings if they want the people off their land. And as the Valhalla Park case (Rudolf v. City of Cape Town) proves, the courts tend to side with those who have nowhere else to go when they take state land.

The land occupation movement intensified on Saturday the 12th as some thirty families moved onto land between St Montague Village and Rondevlei Nature Reserve. In response, Council Law Enforcement came to smash their still-incomplete shacks, supported by the City Police. A battle started when the City Police attacked a mentally ill man who was walking around and confronting the cops. As people tried to protect the man the City Police struck, firing rubber bullets and attacking with batons - a 10 year old boy, Quintin, was hit on the head with a baton, requiring 5 stitches. Three men were arrested on charges of public violence, only to be released (case dismissed) on Monday morning.

After Saturday's battle, the Law Enforcement retreated, and people carried on building. By Tuesday morning the land was filling up, with more than 400 families having erected shacks for themselves. These are families coming out of backyards in St Montague Village, Hillview, Lavender Hill and surrounding areas, where they have to pay high rents (one lady quoted R 700 a month) and face arbitrary eviction from landlords. Now they are making space for their lives on this land in St Montague Village, in a settlement that thus far has no name. "Skrik vir niks" ("Scared of nothing") suggested one activist, "Laaste uitvlug" (Last respite) suggested another. Whatever the name, it seems that new settlement is here to stay - the people on the land have clearly settled there for good!

Tomorow they will join the Day of Action for Housing which is also taking place in Khayelitsha, Gugulethu, Crossroads and Hanover Park. Another front in the battle for decent housing for all has been opened!

Cape's building industry delayed by shortages

The construction boom in the Western Cape is being held up as contractors and builders now have to import everything from bricks and cement to bitumen from other provinces, writes Igsaan Salie. Full Story....

Poverty remains an issue in the Mother City

Cape Town's rising levels of crime and high unemployment rate could easily cause the city to erupt into mayhem similar to that experienced in the French city of Paris, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel has warned. Full Story....

No Secret Housing Problem

It is no secret that residents in less affluent areas are unhappy by the slow pace of service delivery.

From Delmas in Gauteng to the Cape Flats in the Western Cape, townships have erupted in violence as residents protest against their local councils over issues such as the provision of potable water, electricity, roads and affordable housing.

In some instances disgruntled residents have threatened that if these services are not speedily provided, they will stay away from the coming local government elections as a sign of protest. However, nothing could be more foolhardy...

http://www.thestar.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=225&fArticleId=2999216

Twin miracle birth

Wonder birth: Firefighters give the rescued 'miracle' twins oxygen after they were born during a shack fire in Zamimpilo informal settlement, near Riverlea in western Johannesburg. Full story Photo: Malcolm Midgley, The Star

Police fire teargas at housing protesters

Western Cape police have fired teargas at a group of about 1 000 Old Crossroads residents who marched to their local council offices to protest against a new housing development in the area. Full Story....

Cape protests housing & service delivery

Communities around the Cape Penisula have protested against a lack of service delivery and housing. The marches, which were held in three areas, had varying turnouts. The first memorandum was handed over to the Steenberg Municipality by a group of coloured protesters who said they had been neglected and that preference had been given to blacks.

In Mandela Park in Khayelitsha, protetsters complained about the eviction of people who failed to pay their bonds. Meanwhile, in Crossroads, protestors stoned the councillor's house, claiming they are not involved in the decision-making on matters relating to the development of the area.

http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,116404,00.html

Three children killed in shack blaze

A Wendy house fire on Freedom Farm, off Modderdam Road in Belhar, outside Cape Town, has left three children dead and one woman slightly hurt. Full Story....

Unbearable grief: Sharon Onkruid cries uncontrollably as she holds her toddler Dylan after she lost three of her five young children in a shack fire. Full story Photo: Enver Essop, Cape Times

Cape Town Day of Action for Housing

CAPE TOWN, On the 16th of November 2005, communities across Cape Town took action to demand decent houses for all, now!

This year, the Western Cape failed to spend R 76 million of its housing budget. 350 000 families in the province don’t have houses, and only 11 000 houses were built in the whole of the Western Cape last year. Meanwhile, in Cape Town alone, 260 000 families wait for houses and that number grows by 20 000 a year. Shack communities are told they can’t get electricity and get only a few toilets and water because they are ‘temporary’ even if they’ve been living in the same place for years. Meanwhile the government is selling its land to private developers for rich people’s houses, and then turning to the poor and saying there is no land!

Actions included a marches of 400 people each in Lavender Hill and Crossroads (Boys Town) [audio report] with smaller actions in Hanover Park, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu. Memorandums were handed over the officials from the Cape Town City Council (and in Hanover Park the local councillor was given a symbolic funeral) and action was demanded within 7 days, else more mass action will follow!

Participating organisations included Hanover Park Anti-Eviction Campaign (AEC), Hillview Housing Forum, Inthatho Nxaxheba (Crossroads, Boys Town), Intshukumo Yabantu (Gugulethu), Mandela Park AEC, Newfields AEC, QQ section area committee, St Montague Village Women's Hope for the Nation, United Homeless People's Development Association (Cuban Heights) and Vrygrond Action Committee.

http://southafrica.indymedia.org/

House prices the cause of debt

Debt 'caused by house prices' Economists believe that the bulk of the increase in household debt is due to increased borrowing for housing, as a result of the rising house prices.

Shack blaze leaves 100 families with nothing

Children have been left without food and many HIV-positive residents have lost their antiretroviral medication, after yet another fire swept through Joe Slovo Park informal settlement in the Western Cape. Full Story....

Rubber Bullets Housing Protests

Police used rubber bullets to disperse hundreds of disgruntled Sydenham residents, and arrested 45 of them for marching illegally on Monday, Durban police said. Angry residents marched on the mayor's office to hand over a memorandum that cited dissatisfaction over housing and the alleged removal of basic services from shack dwellers.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national&articleid=256520

Police brutally supress peaceful housing demonstration

At noon today at the Foreman Road settlement in Clare Estate, Durban, police attacked a peaceful demonstration of settlement dwellers from around the muncipality. Dozens have been arrested. As of 2:30pm, police had surrounded the Foreman Road settlement and blocked both exits. No one is being allowed in or out. Shots have been heard, and there are reports that anyone attempting to leave the settlement is being fired upon. Eyewitness reports suggest many injuries due to rubber bullets.

The elected committee of Abahlali base Mjondolo, a shack dwellers movement with 16 affiliated settlements, followed due procedure in attempting to gain permission for the march. The city council, however, illegally denied the application (see letter below from the Freedom of Expression Institute for details). At 11am, the majority of the 3000-strong crowd decided to march to the nearby Asherville sports field. This was a route recommended by the Mayor’s office at a meeting on Friday, 11 November, in the Mayor’s presence.

Initially, the march proceeded peacefully up Loon Road. At the top of the road, marchers were met by a police cordon at the intersection of Loon Road and Locksley Road. At least 2000 people were up against the police barrier. Witnesses did not observe the mandatory five-minute warning being given before police charged the crowd with riot shields, backed up by riot trucks, plucking individuals at random for arrest. The crowd fled back down Loon Road, towards Foreman Road settlement.

Police officers chased the marchers into the Foreman Road settlement, firing rubber bullets, charging with batons, and arresting protesters in the process. Witnesses saw cameras, phones and money taken from protestors by the police. Five people were arrested at the front line and approximately 10-15 later minutes at least one more van left the scene, filled with arrested protestors; as of 2pm, a total of 13 people were detained at Sydenham Police Station, though witnesses have seen more police vans filled with people from informal settlements. It is possible that they are being held at other police stations.

One of the first arrestees was System Cele, a 19 year-old elected committee member from nearby Kennedy Road settlement, attending the march with her young baby. She was seen in good health as she was arrested and marched to a police van. She reported that police pushed her around, demanding that she reveal S’bu Zikode as the person making people march. When she said that there were people marching all over the world, and that S’bu could not be inciting them all, they assaulted her, and in the process broke her teeth on the pavement, necessitating dental treatment. As Ms. Cele pointed out, S’bu and other leadership had told those gathered that the march would be illegal, and had advised that there would be consequences, but no one could have foreseen the ferocity of the police response.

The quarantine of the Foreman Road settlement continues. At one point, an effigy of Mayor Mlaba was burned in front of the police, giving off black, oily smoke.

The March on Mayor Mlaba was organised by the Foreman Road Development Committee to demand land and housing in the city and to protest against forced removals and the ongoing removal of basic services from shack settlements. It was decided to march under the slogan of No Land, No House, No Vote. On Wednesday, 9 November more than 5 000 people attended a mass rally in support of the march in the Foreman Road settlement.

Media coverage of on-going events at Foreman Road is urgently needed; please contact those listed below for comment. Bail funds are also needed; contact Fazel Khan (084 577 8627) for details. Finally, please email City Manager Mike Sutcliffe michael@demarcation.org.za to protest the brutal suppression of today's march.

For print quality photos, go to Indymedia South Africa at one, two and three or contact Raj Patel patel@ukzn.ac.za or Richard Ballard ballardr@ukzn.ac.za 083 789 7108

For comment please contact:
Mnikelo Ndabankulu, Foreman Road Development Committee, 07356565241
Lungisani Jama, Foreman Road Development Committee, 0822595443
Nonhlanla Mzobe, Kennedy Road Development Committee, 0826892606
Angelina Mosiea, Quarry Road Development Committee, 0762921833
S'bu Zikode, Chair, Abahlali base Mjondolo, 0835470474
Simon Delany, Freedom of Expression Institute, 0833970057
Raj Patel, Centre for Civil Society, UKZN, 0824724937
Fazel Khan, Social Policy Programme, UKZN, 0845778627

Background info here. Another eyewitness account from Alan Murphy. And an update.

Need more land for housing

The multi-million-rand N2 Gateway housing project outside Cape Town needs more land to meet the growing demand for formal housing to replace shacks, Housing Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has confirmed. Full Story....

Joe Slovo fire

Police suspect foul play in November 13, 2005, 18:13
Police are investigating a case of arson after 30 shacks were reduced to ashes at the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Johannesburg last night. The fire allegedly started when a tuck shop was set alight. One person has been arrested. Read more ...

Hundreds of homes gutted by Stellenbosch fire

Hostel buildings and shacks have been gutted by a fire in Stellenbosch's Khayamandi settlement, while firefighters are combating another fire in the mountainous region on the Cape south coast. Full Story....

Alex residents 'sick and tired' of shack life

Unhappy Alexandra residents will embark on a march to the Gauteng premier's offices this week to seek his intervention on the lack of delivery from the township's refurbishment programme.

The residents will also hand over a memorandum to MEC for Housing Nomvula Mokonyane on Wednesday before heading to Mbhazima Shilowa's office.

Most of the township's population of more than 300 000 are still staying in shacks with no proper sanitation facilities, despite the launch of the R1,3-billion Alexandra Renewal Programme (ARP) four years ago.

'Children are dying because of the unhygienic environment that they are brought up in'When it was launched by President Thabo Mbeki in 2001 - as one of eight national urban-renewal initiatives - the ARP promised to give the township a complete revamp, and residents' hopes for a better life were raised...

http://iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20051107084809865C376349

Generosity the Corr of Imizamo Yethu project

Raising the R32 000 required to be a volunteer for the Niall Mellon Township Challenge, Gavin Bonnar hosted a dinner and an auction and raised R821 100 - but then again he is married to Sharon Corr, the violinist of The Corrs, so his connections are good. Full Story....

Homeless

The premier insists fire breaks work, just the same as he did in 2003, with the Jo Slovo shack fires.

This year, this fire again. The costs of fire are serious, more so than political promises.

Homeless: Twelve-year-old Nolusindiso Vena carries blankets through the remains of shacks gutted by a devastating fire in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town. Photo: Lulama Zenzile, Cape Times Full Story....

Housing delivery strategy an 'expensive gamble'

Unemployment-induced poverty was causing many government housing beneficiaries to move back into shacks, a Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) report revealed on Tuesday.

http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=255383&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/

Housing ministry addresses capacity problems

Lindiwe Sisulu, the housing minister, has described as shocking the persisting capacity problems the municipalities are facing in housing delivery. She has called on municipalities, provinces and national government to prioritise land for housing development before selling it.

Sisulu says municipalities are struggling to provide shelter to the homeless. The reason for calling the meeting urgently was prompted by a presentation from a SALGA representative.

"It showed us that averagely per municipality, there are only two people dealing with housing. And that is the level at which we have been dealing with housing development."

http://www.sabcnews.co.za/south_africa/social/0,2172,115422,00.html

HouseIT Build your own home

Minister of housing Lindiwe Sisulu.

The minister has again called on communities to start doing things for themselves and not to wait for the government. One example is a group of women from Phillipi near Cape Town, who have managed to build more than 80 homes in their community.

http://www.sabcnews.co.za/south_africa/social/0,2172,112911,00.html

Paraplegic dies in Khayelitsha blaze

A teenage paraplegic has died in a blaze that raged through more than 250 shacks in Khayelitsha this week and left more than a thousand people without homes. Full Story....

Blaze ... Khayelitsha residents try to save their belongings. Photo: Oliver Hermanus

Fires Rage

Fires ravaged large parts of the Western, Southern and Eastern Cape an epileptic youth, Tshepo Mapena, 18, died in a runaway shack fire in Khayelitsha, the third person in four days to perish in an informal settlement blaze.[Full Story...]

Solar Energy - Sustainable Development

R30m energy upgrade project for Khayelitsha - A new sustainable development project will give more than 2 000 households in Khayelitsha's townships insulated ceilings, solar water heaters and energy-efficient lighting. Full Story....

Cape shacks a disaster waiting to happen

A series of fires in Cape Town's informal settlements has highlighted the growing housing problem in the province as the homeless desperately risk their safety for a makeshift roof over their heads. Full Story.... 2005-11-01 12:09:18

Housing delivery HSRC report

Pretoria - Unemployment-induced poverty was causing many government housing beneficiaries to move back into shacks, a Human Sciences Research Council report revealed on Tuesday
.
"Unemployment is undermining South Africa's housing delivery strategy," researcher Catherine Cross said in Pretoria.

"Serviced housing alone is not going to be enough to overcome poverty," she said. "There will have to be jobs. It is becoming more and more difficult for people to stay in the houses they've got." News24

City No Planning

Exodus of city planners 'could be devastating for growth'The mass exodus of at least 17 senior officials from the city council's planning department could have a devastating effect on investment and economic growth in the Western Cape.

70 Failure's - Not a good start

Didiza to address Limpopo farming project crisis Thoko Didiza, the land affairs minister, will today address a shock finding that most of the 70 farms, bought by the Limpopo government for R100 million under a Land Acquisition Grant Programme, have collapsed.

I hope the land affaris minister, realises that further land grabs have the potential of following the previous 70 farms failure.