Premier Helen Zille together with Western Cape Human Settlements Minister, Bonginkosi Madikizela launched the multi-million New Woodlands Integrated Residential Development Programme (IRDP) housing project in Mitchell’s Plain today.
The New Woodlands IRDP is worth R212 million and will yield 440 Breaking New Ground (BNG) housing opportunities for Kosovo Informal Settlement residents in Philippi and New Woodlands backyarders from Mitchells Plain.
This housing project forms part of the Southern Corridor Integrated Human Settlement Programme, a provincial Catalytic Project. The Catalytic Programme is a joint initiative with the City of Cape Town and will deliver approximately 50 000 housing opportunities to residents within the City of Cape Town.
Phase one of the Southern Corridor Housing Project will yield up to 10 000 housing opportunities in the Philippi and Mitchell Plain areas.
Farm 694 - also known as the New Woodlands project - is located adjacent to the R300 highway in New Woodlands, Mitchell’s Plain, (Ward 75) within the City of Cape Town. The land, measuring approximately 7 hectors, is owned by the Western Cape Department of Human Settlements.
During the launch, Minister Madikizela said one of the challenges facing the development was to bring together two communities together.
“But what I have d learned from the leaders of these communities is the importance of leadership from both the communities of New Woodlands and Kosovo as they were able to communicate the importance of working together. Initially when we started this project, we wanted to deal with the plight of the people from Kosovo. Kosovo was one of the communities that were earmarked for phase one of the N2 Gateway Project as early as 2003. As government, we had to find a way of assisting the people of Kosovo and identified this site, but the people of Woodlands said no you can’t just come to our area and build for other people. We then began a process of negotiations with both communities,” said Minister Madikizela.
“We had to negotiate with the two communities and agreed on a principle of 50/50 allocation. We are very happy at the achievement we have made. We are here today to turn the sod to mark the beginning of this project,” said Minister Madikizela.
Premier Helen Zille said: “This project is a catalyst in more ways than one. It’s going to be a catalyst to bring communities very much in need of housing together from Kosovo informal settlement, and New Woodlands, where there are lots of people living in backyards. It is going to integrate the two communities and it has achieved this goal through cooperation between the two, which is really path-breaking. We are looking forward to more and more of these projects that dismantle and overcome the special planning of apartheid.”
Photographs and voice-clips are available on request.
Mrs Ntomboxolo Makoba-Somdaka
Spokesperson for Minister Bonginkosi Madikizela
Tel: 021 483 4798
Cell: 082 953 0026
Mr Nathan Adriaanse
Director: Communication and Stakeholder Relations
Tel: 021 483 2868
Cell: 083 263 1720
Mr Ewald Botha
Spokesperson for Premier Helen Zille
Cell: 079 694 1113
Tell: 021 483 4584