Ndifuna Ukwazi Urges City of Cape Town to Expedite Salt River Housing Project

Housing advocacy group Ndifuna Ukwazi is vehemently urging the City of Cape Town (CoCT) to expedite its social housing project at the Pickwick site in Salt River. The call follows the city's announcement this week in a council meeting, earmarking the Pickwick site for affordable housing purposes, a development that Ndifuna Ukwazi states has been anticipated since its proposition in 2008.

Commenting on the city's decision, Ndifuna Ukwazi researcher, Nick Budlender, referred to the announcement as "good news." He stated: "Ndifuna Ukwazi wholeheartedly welcomes the release of the Pickwick site in Salt River for the development of mixed-income housing." Budlender noted that the well-located Pickwick site could provide as many as 1,800 homes, including 840 social housing apartments and 960 market-rate apartments.

In the same week, the City of Cape Town expressed concerns about possible budget cuts to social housing grants by the national government, a move the city says would impact its social housing plans. Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis, voicing his concerns during a recent city council meeting, suggested the potential for budget cuts in other departments as opposed to social housing, an essential service catering primarily to vulnerable South Africans.

The Mayor's comments come in response to Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's recent indication that the human settlement sector could face reduced budgets in the coming medium-term budget policy statement. Hill-Lewis asserted that the minister should ensure any cuts imposed don't adversely affect South Africa's poor.