Moving from slum survivor to urban planner

There was a time when uskoteni (hobo) was a word that police and government officials used to demean slum-dwellers like me.

Gateway never had a chance

Cape Town's disastrous N2 Gateway project began without a funded budget and was starved of agreed funding by the National Housing Department.

Secret Joe Slovo rezoning plans

Western Cape housing minister Richard Dyantyi has applied to rezone land occupied by the informal settlement, despite residents opposing evictions.

Gauteng sets aside R3bn for housing

Over R3-billion was allocated to meet housing delivery needs in Gauteng, provincial housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane said on Tuesday.

Anger at Cape eviction order

The Cape High Court on Monday gave the go-ahead for the eviction of several thousand residents of the Joe Slovo informal settlement to make way for a housing development. Hundreds of Joe Slovo residents, who had gathered in the street outside the court, chanted angry slogans after the judgment was handed down.

Home builders to feel the heat

If the South African Reserve Bank needs further evidence of the dampening effect of higher rates on real economic activity, recent building data has been just that, according to independent economic analysts. A major challenge facing the government is also the extreme escalation in building costs.

Absa injects money to cut housing backlog

Absa and the National Housing Finance Corporation (NHFC) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to speed up the provision of housing in several provinces. Absa has committed R2,6-billion for the building of 100 000 units by 2010. The bank has also committed an additional R150-million for project preparations.

Minister: DA's figures on housing 'fabricated'

Expenditure figures for the Department of Housing released by the Democratic Alliance (DA) were "fabricated and irresponsible", Minister of Housing Lindiwe Sisulu said on Thursday. Sisulu said the DA claimed the department had increased its accommodation and travel expenditure by 153%.

Manuel: State underspends by R5,3bn

Finance Minister Trevor Manuel told Parliament on Thursday that total spending by all three spheres of government in the financial year to March was R5,3-billion rand less than had been appropriated. Much of the underspending was blamed on lack of capacity.

Soweto housing protesters 'should not be misled'

Soweto residents who protested violently over housing earlier this week should not be misinformed and misled, Gauteng housing minister Nomvula Mokonyane warned on Wednesday. The Anti-Privatisation Forum claims that the government had promised residents in 1994 that houses would be built in the Protea South area.

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