Pretoria - Eastern Cape Premier Noxolo Kiviet and the MEC for Human Settlements, Helen Sauls-August, will on Friday, 27 September, hand over houses built under the Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme in Mayfield, Grahamstown.
Through the project, 175 units have been completed, while 397 units are at various stages of construction, with a budget of R103 million.
The Mayfield Housing Project was identified as a project under the Breaking New Ground strategy, which entails a comprehensive plan for the development of sustainable human settlements. It was approved by Cabinet in September 2004.
It requires all three (national, provincial and local) spheres of government to collaborate to ensure the development of sustainable human settlements that provide residents with a safe environment with adequate access to economic opportunities, basic services, transport, education, health and community facilities.
The programme provides access to land, basic municipal engineering services, social amenities and services for all the inhabitants of informal settlements.
The South African government is party to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, which provide for the significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020.
In addition to these conventions, South Africa adheres to the following declarations under the UN Habitat programme: the Vancouver Declaration on Human Settlements (1976), the Istanbul Declaration on Cities and other Human Settlements (1996) and the Habitat Agenda (1996), the focus of which is to address the plight of persons without adequate housing. – SAnews.gov.za
