The King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality has identified 19 precincts for the large-scale construction of homes for upper, middle and low-income earners in Mthatha, Mqanduli and Coffee Bay to spur growth and development in the three towns.
This was announced by KSD mayor Nyaniso Nelani during the second day of his mayoral lekgotla in Mthatha on Monday.
Nelani told human settlements minister Thembisile Simelane, who joined proceedings virtually, that his municipality was targeting the development of 19 precincts, including a new residential area to be called Bedford City.
Among the precincts would be the transformation of the village of Qunu — synonymous with Nelson Mandela — into Qunu City.
Nelani told Simelane the municipality was ready to partner with the department of human settlements in ensuring all the projects became a reality.
“We have centred [our] growth and development towards your department. Whether it is our vision to become a metro, it centres around human settlements,” he told the minister.
“We have projects that we are implementing. And we have 19 precincts that we have to enable us to push the growth and development of KSD.
“We would be happy if human settlements can partner with KSD on those projects.”
One of the developments mentioned by Nelani was the N2 Junction project near the Ultra City along the N2.
He later told the Dispatch a private developer had shown interest in building about 4,000 housing units at the site.
“The developers need about R300m, that is what is stalling development. They need bulk infrastructure.
“Bedford City will also be spearheaded by private developers for a mixed-use development that will include upper-income, middle-income and low-income houses, a shopping complex and schools,” he said.
“The developers have already pitched a proposal to the municipality.”
Another project involves the development of Viedgesville, on the outskirts of Mthatha, into a logistical hub.
Nelani said planning for the modernising of the area had already been done by the municipality.
He said KSD was in the process of conducting a local spatial development framework for the establishment of Qunu City, which officials hoped to turn into a heritage city.
“It’s not only about promoting Mandela. We hope this place can also become a hub for the hosting of cultural events.
“Obviously, we are planning to partner with any interested private developer.”
Nearby Mvezo village, where Mandela was born, is also among the 19 precincts to be developed.
Nelani said planning for its development had already started.
There are also plans to develop houses for middle-income residents in Mqanduli and Coffee Bay.
The municipality hopes to establish a municipal precinct in underdeveloped Coffee Bay town.
Nelani said land had already been identified for this purpose.
However, officials hoped to meet rural development and land reform minister Mzwanele Nyhontso to help facilitate the release of the land.
He described land invasions as a cancer “especially on land that we do not own as the municipality”.
“If it is ours, we are quick to defend it, but the people [land grabbers] are clever; as soon as they realise it is not ours and belongs to someone else, they pounce quickly.
“But we have become aware of this and are now busy crafting a municipal bylaw to effectively deal with the issue of land grabs,” he said.
Land invasions, particularly in Mthatha, have led to the mushrooming of informal settlements in recent years, with Mthatha West heavily affected.
Simelane said proper planning and skills capacity in municipalities remained increasingly important because “if we do not plan, we will end up with informal settlements”.
The minister said when municipalities did not use some of their land for development, it opened the window for illegal land grabs.
She said the government needed to build internal capacity in municipalities to enable them to respond immediately to land invasions and harm to the environment.
Simelane said about five-million people lived in informal settlements in SA and the government was now looking at using alternative building technologies to fast-track the provision of houses.
“The scale of housing demand and urgency [to provide housing] requires [us] to adopt alternative building technologies as a pillar.
“During Covid, other countries could build a hospital in 10 days but building a school in this country can take up to four years.”
The government was looking at transforming the lives of at least 500,000 people by 2030 by providing them with proper housing, starting with 100,000 informal settlers each year.
Simelane said the mandate of the government was to fix local government and make it work better for the betterment of citizens.
Daily Dispatch
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