Durban — KZN human settlements and public works MEC Dr Ntuthuko Mahlaba promised the community of Madundube that local people will be given priority when employing construction workers for a housing project.
Mahlaba made the promise during the official launch of stage one of the Madundube Informal Settlement Upgrade Housing Project in KwaDukuza Local Municipality’s ward 27 on Sunday.
The MEC was joined by the mayor of KwaDukuza Local Municipality, Lindile Nhaca, and the political leadership of the Ilembe District Municipality as he kick-started the massive, almost half-a-billion-rand housing project, in the fast-growing municipality on the North Coast of the province.
Addressing the media at the launch, Mahlaba made a number of commitments designed to guarantee smooth project delivery, as well as about 2 000 temporary jobs for the benefit of local community members. He again promised that the project will focus on sourcing and buying equipment from local manufacturers.
Mahlaba cracked the whip, insisting that “no excuses will be tolerated for those who fail to finish their projects as per the specifications and contracts. And if this were to surface, no payments will be made on the project before proper inspection of the construction sites (and) of the finished housing units”.
Stage one of the Madundube Informal Settlement Upgrade Housing Project entails the installation of internal services that include bulk water and sewerage infrastructure, and road construction.
Between February this year and May 2024 the service providers on site will be occupied with the installation of these internal services, prior to the commencement of the top structure, which is the housing units, towards the end of May 2024.
This ground-breaking housing development in KwaDukuza will see 2 259 sites being prepared, which means that almost 2 260 people are set to benefit on completion of the project in ward 27’s five voting districts.
The stage one installation of internal services will be done in seven phases at a cost of R102 million and the 2 259 housing sites or units will have an additional cost of almost R300m, thus bringing the total cost of the entire project close to R400m.
The project is implemented in terms of the amended housing policy guidelines, with the KwaDukuza Municipality fulfilling the role of a developer. The municipality has approved the engineering designs for roads and sewer reticulation.
When responding to the project handover, community members said that they have been waiting for this project for a long time.
“We had almost given up hope that we would ever get proper houses within our community. We are also happy about the job opportunities this project will create for the people of Madundube, and that our children get employment opportunities in it,” a community member said.
Another community member pleaded with the contractors to ensure that workers are paid according to the normal rates, and urged them not to “rob the people”.
Daily News